David Wijnkoop en de Russische beer 1916 - 1925

This drawing by Patricq Kroon, titled 'David Wijnkoop en de Russische beer,' probably made with ink or charcoal, feels like a quick sketch, something dashed off with a sense of urgency and political intent. I imagine Kroon hunched over a table, rapidly dragging the medium across the paper, trying to capture a likeness, a feeling, or a sense of the political moment. The marks are sharp, like a staccato rhythm, with a dense accumulation of lines, building form and shadow. The white of the paper isn't just a background, but an active element, helping to define the shapes. The figure on the bear’s back clutches a flag marked 'Tribune,' maybe it’s a reference to the Dutch newspaper De Tribune? You know, artists are always having a conversation with each other, across generations, and with the world. What the artist is trying to do, it's always open to interpretation, changing over time.