Ambroise Vollard c. 1910

Jean-Louis Forain sketched this portrait of Ambroise Vollard using graphite on paper. The composition is immediately striking for its austerity and simplicity, qualities achieved through Forain’s economy of line and tonal range. The artist masterfully uses hatching and cross-hatching to model Vollard’s form, creating a sense of volume and weight. Considered through the lens of structuralism, the lines can be viewed as a system of signs. The density and direction of the lines contribute to the overall meaning and interpretation of the work. The hatching lines, more than just shading, structure the very form and convey the subject’s character and psychological depth. The linear network establishes not only an image, but also a network of signs that invite us to consider how representation itself is constructed through artifice and convention. The unpretentious surface invites us to contemplate the interplay between signifier and signified.