Portrait of Clara Rilke-Westhoff 1902

Paula Modersohn-Becker drew this portrait of Clara Rilke-Westhoff with pencil on paper. I really love the raw, honest quality of this sketch, it feels like a direct line to the artist's thought process. The lines are so alive, almost vibrating with energy. You can see the pressure Modersohn-Becker applied, varying the darkness of the lines. It's like she's feeling her way around the form, not trying to create a perfect likeness, but something more. Look at the way she renders Clara's hair – a flurry of lines that capture its texture. The quick, scribbled lines that frame the portrait give it a kind of immediacy, like a snapshot. It reminds me a little of Van Gogh's drawings, that same intensity and willingness to leave the process visible. In art, as in life, it's often the imperfections that make things interesting.