Sydfransk landskab med træer i forgrunden 1912

J.A. Jerichau (II) made this sketch of a South French landscape with trees in the foreground, using ink on paper, sometime around the early 20th century. You can almost feel the sun bearing down on the artist as he works "en plein air," right? I can see the artist making quick, assured marks, capturing the scene’s essence with an economy of line. Look at the way the ink pools and bleeds in places, creating depth and shadow. And the lines, they are so scratchy and raw, like he's trying to dig into the surface of the paper. I wonder if Jerichau felt the pressure of time, knowing that light and weather were always changing. The bare paper left exposed around the edges gives the scene a sense of immediacy, like a fleeting moment captured in time. It makes me think of other landscape painters like Van Gogh or Cezanne, who were also trying to capture the essence of a place. I love how artists build on each other's work, inspiring new ways of seeing and feeling.