Twee mannen aan een tafel in een café 1924

Willem de Zwart made this etching, "Two Men at a Table in a Café," on paper, but when? I can imagine him sketching out the composition, maybe on a napkin, while watching people in a real café. The dark and light are like a moody song, humming with quiet intimacy. Look how the lines pile up, thick and thin, creating the shadows where the two figures are sitting, hunched in conversation. What are they talking about? I think about the artist, etching away, lost in his thoughts, trying to capture the essence of a moment. The whole scene is made up of lines, but they don't just describe things, they also create a feeling. It reminds me a little of Daumier, or maybe even some of the German Expressionists. It feels like he is sharing a fleeting observation. Painters are always responding to what came before, and this small artwork shows how the practice of etching can make us see the world with fresh eyes.