Rug van Joanna Lion Cachet-Cordes c. 1935 - 1940

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this drawing, 'Rug van Joanna Lion Cachet-Cordes', with a simple pen on paper. You can almost see his hand moving as he looks at the scene in front of him. I'm thinking about the way artists work – how we look and make marks and look again. The looping lines of the face, the back of the head, the dog – they give the feeling of a moment captured in the simplest way. It’s like he’s trying to grab hold of what’s in front of him, pinning it down with these quick, decisive strokes. You can see the dog's head resting; the feeling of its fur, the slump of its body, the weight of the moment. It reminds me that art is always about looking, and drawing is such a direct way of engaging with the world. And as you look, you are in conversation with the artist.