Intellect, van gisteren, zooals alles 1923

Erich Wichmann made this drawing, "Intellect, van gisteren, zooals alles," sometime around 1923, using what looks like charcoal or graphite on paper. There's a raw honesty to the sketch; it's like Wichmann grabbed the essence of a face, or maybe a feeling, straight out of the air. The marks are smudgy and immediate, and you can almost see his hand moving across the page. The face is elongated, spectral. I think it captures something about how ideas and perceptions shift, fade, or maybe even haunt us. I can't help but wonder about Wichmann's state of mind, the world he inhabited, and what ghosts he was wrestling with when he made this. It makes me think about other artists like Munch, or even Guston – all grappling with the human condition through expressive lines and forms. It's a reminder that artists are always speaking to each other across time, channeling something bigger than themselves.