Meisje met modder op haar been 1917 - 1970

Adrie Vürtheim made this pen drawing called 'Girl with mud on her leg', but when I look at it, I see a whole crowd of girls! The brisk, lively strokes of Vürtheim's pen capture the kind of social energy that reminds me of playground gossip. There's a real delight in the textures she creates; from the glossy, reflective sheen of the wet ground, which she conjures with these confident sweeps of ink, to the patterned fabric of the girl's clothes. I love the details on those socks. But the real focal point is, of course, that muddy leg! Just look at how those marks become a kind of abstract tattoo, drawing all eyes and all the narrative energy to that one point. It makes me think of the graphic style of someone like Grosz, and the way they both manage to capture the energy of a crowd with such minimal means. There's a real sense of play here, and an openness to letting the process of drawing generate the story.