In The Drawing Room [The Art Critics] c. late 1920s

George Grosz made this drawing on paper sometime in the 20th Century; with his pen, he’s laid bare a den of art critics. I just love the starkness of this drawing – the raw, almost savage quality of the lines. Grosz isn't holding back, is he? I can imagine him hunched over the paper, a cigarette burning in the ashtray, driven by this need to expose and mock the bourgeoisie. What do you think was on his mind when he made this? The scratchy, urgent lines, the almost cruel caricatures—it’s like he's using line as a weapon. And that woman on the right! Her exaggerated features, the predatory grin, the spindly legs. It's grotesque, yes, but it’s also compelling. There’s something about the way he captures the hypocrisy and moral decay of the art world that feels so relevant, still. I feel like he's in conversation with Hogarth and Daumier. The lineage of satire, still going strong!