Hussar Colonel 1915

Editor: Liebermann's "Hussar Colonel," a sketch from who-knows-when, captures a figure of authority in charcoal. There's a starkness to it, a kind of…melancholy. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: Melancholy, yes, that’s a fine word for it. It makes me wonder about the weight of command, doesn't it? It’s a portrait, but stripped bare. There's a nervous energy in the lines, almost like Liebermann caught him between breaths. Editor: It feels very immediate. Like he just sketched him real fast in one sitting. Curator: Precisely! That immediacy gives it its power, that feeling of something fleeting, something almost… vulnerable, hidden beneath the medals and the posture. Editor: So much is left unsaid, but implied, and I think that's what makes it so haunting. Curator: Absolutely. An unfinished whisper, far more potent than a shout.