Partizan's love (between two battles) 1944

Alfred Krupa made this pencil drawing, Partizan's Love (between two battles), in 1944. It's all about mark-making; the softness and depth of the graphite create the figure. It's interesting how you can get lost in the process of looking. The texture and surface, they're not trying to hide anything. The grain of the paper is present. The varying pressure of the pencil creates a sense of depth that brings the figure to life. Notice the concentrated, dark hatching used to create the hair, this mass of marks contrasts with the softer, lighter shading of the body. You know, this makes me think of Picasso, and how he worked with line to convey form. It's like these artists are in conversation across time. Art isn't about fixed meanings, but possibilities.