Mandsportræt og let rids af en hånd 1864 - 1942

Niels Bjerre made this portrait and sketch of a hand with pencil on paper, we don't know when exactly. The artist's process feels so direct here, it's right there on the surface. The hatching marks around the figure are really what give it to you, right? It's like a big, dark halo, but it's made of these little tiny movements. Looking at this, I am immediately reminded of Alberto Giacometti, whose drawings feel like he is building the figure from a similar mass of tone, smudging and rubbing until he finds his subject. And then there’s the hand, so lightly rendered it almost disappears. It’s like a ghost of a hand. It makes me think about how drawings can hold onto a feeling, or a fleeting thought, in a way that feels almost more direct than paint. You're never really sure if the artist knows what the final outcome will be, but you know that this piece captures one moment of trying to find out.