Staand mannelijk naakt in de golven 1878 - 1938

This drawing, made by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, probably used graphite on paper—but there are so many ways of approaching the figure! Here, the artist seems to be feeling his way through the waves, the solid mass of a nude standing in contrast to the insubstantiality of water. I can see the artist working on the drawing, trying to capture the light as it falls on the body, the soft gradations of tone defining the form of a torso. The material of drawing is so immediate, you know? The way the pencil moves across the page is a kind of dance, and each mark is a record of that movement. You can feel the artist's hand in every line, the pressure and release as they build up the image, each decision adding to a conversation between the artist and their work. These kinds of works remind us that artists work in dialogue across time, inspiring and responding to each other. It’s a process of continuous creation, destruction, and recreation, and we can get lost in the exchange of ideas as new ways of seeing come into being.