Portret van Juliane zu Rantzau 1880 - 1932

Emil Orlik made this portrait of Juliane zu Rantzau as an etching in 1915. I love how the marks feel almost like they're breathing, a kind of quiet energy. It’s like Orlik let the acid do its thing, embracing the chance operations. The texture is amazing, a kind of gritty sweetness. Look at the way the lines build up the darks in her headscarf, it feels so dense, almost velvety. And then the way he suggests the light on her face with these tiny, almost hesitant marks. It's a dance between control and letting go, which is what I think all art-making should be. When you look at the lines around her mouth, there’s a sense of gravity there, a real person. Orlik reminds me a bit of Käthe Kollwitz, especially in the way he uses line to convey emotion. But Orlik has a lightness, a kind of playful touch that’s all his own. Art is just one big conversation anyway, right?