Nudes at Pool 1919

František Drtikol made this image, Nudes at Pool, with charcoal on paper. The making of this image seems to be about the build-up of dark marks, a bit like staring into a cloudy night sky. There’s a real weight to the charcoal he uses. It’s dry and crumbly, but in some areas, especially around the base of the pool, he’s pressed down to create solid forms. I love the wispy bits around the edges, they give the piece an ethereal, otherworldly feel. Look at the figure standing in the pool, the way the charcoal blurs around the legs, as if they’re dissolving into the water. It's an intense, physical experience, like smudging your memories onto the page. The Czech photographer, Jaroslav Rössler, was a similar artist who explored how avant-garde aesthetics can be used to represent the human body. I guess, ultimately, art doesn’t give us answers, it just offers us new ways to pose questions.