Figure Study [recto] 1945 - 1948

This is a ‘Figure Study’ by Franz Kline, made with ink on paper. The way Kline uses these bold, dark lines, it’s all about the gesture, the energy of the moment. You can almost feel his hand moving across the page. Looking closely, you see how the ink varies, sometimes thick and opaque, other times almost transparent, creating depth and shadow with very little means. The face is constructed from just a few lines, but they carry so much weight, emotion, and drama. It’s like he’s capturing the essence of the figure, not just its appearance. The brushstrokes around the hand are especially expressive, a tangle of lines that somehow suggest form and movement. Kline's work reminds me of the raw energy you find in Cy Twombly's drawings, that same sense of immediacy and the beauty of imperfection. Both artists show us that sometimes, it’s the sketch, the study, that captures the truest feeling.