Erling 1920

Christian Rohlfs made this artwork, Erling, with watercolor and charcoal—probably on paper. I see hills and buildings, but mostly a network of dark, sweeping lines. It’s as if he’s trying to capture the underlying structure of the landscape, the way things are connected. I can imagine Rohlfs standing there, squinting at the scene, charcoal in hand, trying to distill the essence of the place. There’s a certain urgency in the marks, a desire to get it down quickly, before the light changes or the feeling fades. He’s not trying to create a perfect representation, but rather an impression. You feel the artist there, making something. Like he's asking what is painting for, and what is it about.