De twee blinden van Trebizonde c. 1902

"De Twee Blinden van Trebizonde," or "The Two Blind Men of Trebizond" by E. Phosty is a riot of action rendered in watercolor. You can see how the artist has used a comic book style layout to show the narrative. There’s a playful quality in the repetition of figures and the simplicity of form, and the color is applied loosely with areas of red, green and yellow. Look closely and you’ll see that a fine graphic line defines the figures and their expressions are humorously exaggerated. Notice the central panel where the figures are frozen mid-action. There’s a performative, almost theatrical quality in the way they are posed. This work could be considered alongside the comic strips of Adolphe Leuchart, also known as Draner, who was working at the same time. But it's the raw energy, the rough and ready application of paint, that makes this work so compelling. It embraces ambiguity, inviting endless interpretations, and reminding us that art is an ongoing dialogue, an exchange of ideas that spans generations."