De Roma 1894 - 1959

This printed sheet, "De Roma," made by Monogrammist G.J., feels like a series of sketches, little moments captured in time. The gentle wash of colors, almost like watercolors, suggests a light touch, an openness to letting the image breathe. The softness of the medium really gets me, there’s a quiet intimacy in these scenes, like a glimpse into a private world. It’s as if the artist is thinking through the scenes, not just depicting them. Look at the way the figures are arranged, they create a rhythm that is both pleasing and strange. The image with the bear really captures my eye. There's something so bizarre about the way the bear, the man and child are placed in the composition. There is this quality of storytelling, folk art and early comic strips, that really sets up the idea of art as an ongoing conversation, where stories are revisited and reinterpreted across time.