Ixion 1906

Oluf Hartmann made this tiny etching, Ixion, sometime between 1890 and 1910. It's all about the process. The plate looks like it's been scrubbed and worried over, a real physical engagement. The image is super dark, the figures almost swallowed by shadow, but that makes me want to look closer. See how Hartmann uses these tiny, broken lines to create the forms? There's a real energy in those marks, like he's wrestling with the image. Check out the way the light catches the figure's back on the left – it's just a few quick scratches, but they give the whole thing a sense of drama. This reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who wasn't afraid to get down and dirty with her materials. Like her, Hartmann shows us how art can be about the struggle to make something meaningful out of the chaos of the world. It's not about perfection, it's about the journey.