Akrobater Skapad 1914

Eugène Jansson made this drawing of acrobats, and when I look at it, I imagine the quiet scratching of pencil on paper. He works in small strokes, hatching lines to describe these figures lifting one another. I think about him, alone, trying to get the weight of the bodies right, the strain and contortion of their muscles clear. Do you think he had models, or was he working from memory? I can almost feel the powdery graphite on my fingertips. Look at the standing figure, the spread fingers of his left hand, and the way his muscles tense to hoist his partner. The bodies are weighty but still feel light, like they might float off the page, held together by Jansson's attention. It's a conversation between the artist, the acrobats, and us – a shared experience across time.