Liggende vrouw in een jurk 1929

Otto Verhagen made this pen and ink drawing, *Liggende vrouw in een jurk*, with what looks like a wonderfully scratchy, energetic process. I just love the energy, the way the figures are just *there*. There’s something so immediate about drawings like this. You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the page. The lines are so direct, so unpretentious, that they create a real sense of intimacy. The laid-back figure, sprawled out in what I guess is a dress, has a real sense of volume thanks to all that hatching. And look at the other figure, walking by. The artist is capturing the essence of the figures, that’s the thing; not just what they look like, but how they feel. It reminds me of other artists who have captured the everyday so beautifully - someone like Bonnard, maybe. There’s a similar focus on the everyday, and embracing the beauty in the mundane. Art’s not about answers, you know? It’s about conversations, questions.