Stående, mandlig akrobat, set forfra. 1909

Othon Friesz made this drawing of a standing male acrobat on paper, likely in the early 20th century. The charcoal or graphite looks like it was applied in quick, searching strokes, mapping out the figure’s form with a raw, energetic line. I can imagine Friesz, squinting at his model, quickly trying to capture the essence of the acrobat’s pose. Maybe he was thinking about movement, balance, the tension in those muscles. There's a kind of vulnerability in the sketchiness, isn't there? It reminds me of other modernists like Matisse or Picasso, all wrestling with how to represent the human form in new ways. Look at the lines around the shoulders and chest – see how they overlap and almost vibrate? That gives the figure a sense of depth and energy, like he’s about to spring into action. Ultimately, for me, a piece like this reminds us that art-making is an ongoing conversation, artists responding to each other across time and space.