Gammel blind mand i profil med hætte over hovedet 1905

Frans Schwartz made this small etching of an old blind man sometime in his career. The marks are so incredibly dense, they create a really rich tapestry of dark and light. It makes me think about how the process of artmaking itself can be like feeling around in the dark. Look at the way Schwartz uses these tiny, close-knit lines to build up the form of the man’s face and hood. It’s almost sculptural, like he’s carving the image out of darkness. The lines aren't just descriptive, they’re expressive, full of feeling. Notice the really dark areas, built up with layers and layers of cross-hatching. Then, there are the lighter spots, where the lines are more sparse, allowing the white of the paper to shine through. It gives the whole image a kind of vibrating energy. This reminds me a little bit of Käthe Kollwitz. Her prints have a similar intensity and focus on the human condition. Ultimately, Schwartz's image invites us to contemplate the nature of perception, and the different ways of seeing, or not seeing, the world.