Comment:
In the motif "The Hands" we encounter love’s unappealing cousin, lust. In Munch’s art – as in reality – this trait is evenly divided between the sexes. In this drawing it is man’s sexual desire that is exposed – in other versions of the same motif Munch depicts the woman as a seductress, in a provocative posture and with a flirtatious smile. One of the rules of Munch’s first drawing teacher at Gjertsen’s School, Hjalmar Nielsen, was never to erase, and in this drawing we find several examples of so-called pentimento – corrected lines that have been left untouched: the woman’s feet, for example. Traces of this type provide us with interesting insight into the drawing process, and make the drawing more spontaneous and alive.