Portret van Ferdinand Hodler 1911

Emil Orlik made this portrait of Ferdinand Hodler using etching, a process that feels so aligned with what it means to be an artist. Look at how the lines create this figure, a portrait of an artist in the act of creation. The etching brings out the texture of the paper, doesn't it? It's almost as if the paper itself is breathing. And the marks, so deliberate, so precise, yet with a certain looseness. I love the confidence in the hand, each line a decision, a gesture. The way the arm extends, holding a tool, and the vertical line he’s making – it’s all about the doing, the making. It reminds me of Picasso’s portraits of artists, that same gaze into the artistic soul. The conversation between artists across time, through the act of portraiture, is a testament to the creative process. It’s never really fixed. It is always in motion, always evolving.