Oplevend nationalisme en militarisme 1920 - 1935

This undated drawing by Patricq Kroon, done with pen and ink, is, wow, striking. I can imagine him hunched over a table with his pen, just letting it all come out in these frantic scribbles. The scene features a skeleton labeled "Reaction" and "Militarism" in a coffin, being confronted by a workman-like figure holding a shovel. I like how the artist is calling out nationalism, and I wonder if they are having an argument? The lines are so active, so charged—you can feel the energy in the room. The artist is doing something with the cross-hatching here, and the weight of the lines is really expressive. The dark ink and dense marks create a sense of foreboding, but also an intensity, it is the kind of thing I find myself doing when trying to untangle a particularly knotty problem. It's a reminder that art can be a powerful form of social commentary.