Auguste Rodin 1906

Anders Zorn made this etching of Auguste Rodin, and it's a flurry of marks. Look at that incredible beard and all that cross hatching. You can imagine Zorn with his etching needle, building up layers of shadow, pushing and pulling at the surface. I wonder what it was like to be in the room with Rodin, etching his portrait? What were they talking about? Did Rodin sit still, or was he fidgeting? I feel like Zorn is trying to capture not just what Rodin looked like, but also his energy, his intensity. The lines around Rodin’s head feel like a cloud of creative thought. It’s almost like Zorn is trying to etch Rodin's mind, not just his face. Painters are constantly in conversation with each other, across time and space. Zorn, looking at Rodin, thinking about Rembrandt and all the other artists who have tried to capture the human spirit. And now, we're looking at Zorn, thinking about him, Rodin, Rembrandt, and all the possibilities of art.