Dessin pour 'Le Peintre' 1923

Gosta Adrian-Nilsson made this drawing called ‘Dessin pour “Le Peintre”’ using pencil on paper. The pencil moves in lines that are hard and crisp, creating shapes, which in turn create the picture. The drawing shows a painter painting a cityscape. The painter is angular and boxy, as if he himself is a building in the city. What I find interesting is the way the artist uses the medium. With just a pencil and paper, he shows the hard edges of urban life but also the softness of the light and shadow. Look at the shading on the painter’s jacket, it gives him a kind of depth. Thinking of other artists who play with perspective and geometry like this makes me think of artists like Fernand Léger. Artists riff off each other, creating a visual language that's always changing, always in conversation. It’s like they’re saying, "Here's what I see, what do you see?" And it’s never just one thing, is it?