Figurkomposition I 1912

J.A. Jerichau made "Figurkomposition I" with brown ink on paper. The figures emerge from the paper with swift strokes, almost as if Jerichau was trying to capture a fleeting moment. The quick, confident lines are like a shorthand for form, and the blank spaces of the paper almost become as important as the marks themselves. I wonder if Jerichau worked en plein air, trying to grasp the light and shapes before the sun moved? Look at the figure with the headdress—there's a real sense of character there. And then there are the figures behind, almost dissolving into the landscape, as if the artist wanted to evoke the feeling of a place rather than describe its physical reality. It reminds me of Rodin's sketches, where figures seem to be emerging from the stone. Artists are always in conversation, aren't they?