Mandlig model, siddende med bagudstrakte arme 1901 - 1905

Oluf Hartmann made this drawing of a male model with charcoal, giving the image a bold yet soft quality. It's all about the mark-making here, right? I imagine Hartmann, stepping back, squinting, then leaning in to build up the tones, finding the form through shadow. You can see how the charcoal almost caresses the paper, creating these fuzzy edges. Look at the arm, how the strokes follow the muscle, giving it weight and volume. I wonder what Hartmann was thinking about as he worked. Was he trying to capture a likeness, or was he more interested in the play of light and shadow across the body? The way the figure reclines, there’s something vulnerable about it, but also powerful. To me, this piece resonates with the work of other artists like Kathe Kollwitz, who used charcoal to convey a deep sense of human emotion. It’s like artists are always in dialogue, sharing ideas across time.