Two studies of a running girl
  • Franz Skarbina
  • Berlin 1849 - 1910
  • Two studies of a running girl
  • Pencil on paper, partly smeared
  • signed on the lower right: F. Skarbina
  • 268 × 190 mm
Provenance:
Collection John Koch, New York (1909-1978)

The same is true of the wonderfully spontaneous Motion Study of a Young Girl, which the artist represents as the twisting moment when a figure hurries by. The body already in profile, the head turned back one minute and looking forward the next, the line of sight proceeds over the left shoulder towards an event taking place beyond the right-hand edge from which the girl seeks to flee. Her expressive glance towards the left, along with her flying curls, intensifies this rotational movement, the speed of which is indicated by the draftsman’s suggestive line. This state of great excitement and dynamism brings remarkable expression to the image. Yet along with this momentary impression, Franz Skarbina simultaneously attempts to capture the various emotional states of his model, as evidenced by his empathetic studies of the child’s face.