Udsigt fra et vindue ved Lungarnoen over floden mod Santo Spirito og San Miniatohøjderne, Firenze 1923 - 1924

This sketch of Florence, with pen on paper, was done by Edvard Weie. It’s not dated, but the fastness of the line makes me think of a specific moment in time. Weie’s mark-making is all about capturing a direct impression. The lines are quick, a little anxious, scrabbling across the surface. A bridge with multiple arches crosses the centre of the composition, drawn with a nervous energy that makes the architecture feel alive. You can see the way the pen sometimes drags, leaving little blobs of ink, evidence of the artist’s hand and the resistance of the paper. I love the way he captures a sense of depth and space with so few lines. Weie reminds me of late Cézanne in the way he reduces everything to these trembling marks. Like, what’s the least amount you can do to make a thing visible? It’s this kind of thinking that keeps art moving forward, an ongoing conversation about the nature of seeing and representing the world.