Een goede waakhond 1894 - 1959

This comic strip, Een goede waakhond or 'A Good Watchdog' was made some time ago by an artist known only by the initials G.J. It's rendered in lithographic ink, with areas of flat colour. I’m thinking about the hand of this artist, Monogrammist G.J., moving through a narrative. Each scene reveals a little more of the story, a little more about these characters. I wonder if he was trying to tell a joke with this comic strip. Was it funny at the time? Is it funny now? The artist's line is pretty clean and simple. There's a controlled quality to the hand, but at the same time, there is a lightness and clarity. He had to think carefully about how he would render each detail of the narrative. The artist seems to have been in conversation with other narrative painters, maybe even in competition with them. It reminds me that art is such an ongoing exchange of ideas across time, inspiring each other. As viewers we can embrace the multiple meanings that come to the surface.