On the Train 1915

Rik Wouters's drawing of people traveling together might have been made with ink on paper; but looking at it I see an image emerging as the train itself sets off on its journey. The figures are all traveling in the same direction but they are enclosed in their own thoughts and worlds. They are strangers who happen to be close together in this public space. I wonder what Wouters was thinking as he rendered this scene with thin strokes, as if quickly capturing a fleeting moment. It almost seems that he was there among them, another passenger looking on and making these figures his subject. It reminds me of other artists such as Daumier and Degas, who also captured images of modern life with sensitivity and insight. I love the way the quick gestures don't quite meet and leave gaps in the image, as though it could disappear at any moment, like a half-forgotten memory. Artists are always looking at one another's work and building on each other's ideas, it's a constant conversation. Like these passengers caught in transit, we are all just passing through.