Untitled (Sketchbook page) 1955

This untitled sketch on a yellowed page was made by Jean Helion. It features scribbled black ink with hints of green and blue, capturing a moment, a fleeting impression of everyday life. I can imagine Helion, sketchbook in hand, quickly capturing the scene: cars, trees, people. The lines are nervous and energetic, suggesting a sense of urgency. There are dense, layered marks. The trees are rendered as dark masses of hatched lines, while the cars are sketched with a lighter touch, their forms almost dissolving into the background. It's like he's trying to capture the essence of the scene, not a photographic representation, but the feeling of being there. It reminds me of the work of other artists who were interested in capturing the immediacy of experience through line and color, like Cy Twombly. I imagine Helion in a conversation with other artists, across time and space, about how to see and represent the world around us.