Lillebil Christensen IV 1920

This is "Lillebil Christensen IV," made by Ernst Oppler, but we don't know exactly when. You know, looking at this print, I immediately start wondering about the act of mark-making itself. Oppler uses these delicate lines to capture the dancer's movement. I can almost see him, bent over the plate, carefully etching each line. There's a real sympathy in the way he depicts the dancer. You can feel the effort, the balance, the fleeting grace of the performance. He's not just showing us a dancer, but also the energy and emotion of the dance. Look at the texture he creates in the tutu, all those tiny, frenetic lines. It's like he's trying to capture the very essence of movement. It reminds me of Degas, another artist obsessed with dancers. It’s like they are all in conversation across time, trading ideas about how to capture life in motion. It's a reminder that art is an ongoing process, a way of seeing and feeling the world that is always open to new interpretations.