Siddi in Bed [recto] 1912

Erich Heckel made this drawing of Siddi in 1912, using charcoal. The marks here are so confident, almost reckless. It’s like he’s wrestling with the image, trying to pin it down with these bold, dark lines. I always find that charcoal is such a great medium, because it's both immediate, and unforgiving. You can get lost in the material so easily. Look how he’s rendered the head and hand. See the way the lines don’t quite meet, leaving gaps, suggesting form rather than defining it? There's something very intimate and vulnerable about it. Then there are areas where he’s smudged the charcoal, blurring the lines, like a memory fading. The relationship between line and shading creates real volume. The heavy blacks give the piece a solid, almost sculptural presence. I can't help but be reminded of Kathe Kollwitz, another artist who wrestled with the medium of charcoal to render depictions of intimate moments. These artists remind us that art is a conversation, a constant push and pull between intention and accident.