Sheet of Sketches: Men, Women and Cats (recto); Sheet of Sketches: Men and Women (verso) 1879 - 1923

This sheet of sketches of men, women, and cats was made by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, using graphite and perhaps a bit of colored pencil. Can you imagine the artist quickly filling the page? A flurry of studies, as figures emerge and overlap, capturing fleeting moments, all in a harmony of quick lines and light shading. I wonder what Steinlen was thinking as he made this piece. Perhaps he was observing people and animals, trying to capture their essence in a few strokes. The cats, so sinuous and free, contrast with the more formal and contained human figures. There's one woman smoking a pipe! I like her. You know, this reminds me a bit of Daumier, another artist who was great at capturing everyday life with a quick line. It’s all one big conversation, this art thing, across time. Artists inspiring each other, riffing on each other's ideas. And that, my friends, is the beauty of it all.