Portret van Ferdinand Hodler 1911

Here's a portrait made by Emil Orlik, sometime between 1870 and 1932, showing the artist Ferdinand Hodler at work. I imagine Orlik, with his etching needle, capturing Hodler’s intensity as he stares down the canvas, his arm boldly extended. It’s a kind of artist-to-artist understanding, wouldn’t you say? I bet Orlik was fascinated by Hodler’s process, the way he translates inner visions onto a surface. You can almost feel the tension in Hodler’s pose, the concentration needed to make a single mark. Look at the way Orlik uses line—so delicate and precise, yet full of energy. It makes me think about the act of seeing itself, how one artist sees another, and how they, in turn, transform that vision into something tangible. It's all a conversation, really. Artists looking, responding, and pushing each other forward across time.