Straatmuzikanten 1925

This lithograph, Straatmuzikanten, by Johan van Hell, shows two street musicians, and it’s all in these muted grays, which makes the scene feel, I don't know, kind of hushed. You know, like a secret whispered in the rain. I’m really drawn to the surface here; the way the lithographic crayon creates a kind of rough, granular texture. If you look closely at the figure in the back, see how the artist uses these tiny little marks to build up the shadows. It’s like he’s sculpting with darkness. And then there's the figure in the front, all these little scribbles and dots. It makes you feel the weight of the coat, the tension in the face. I see echoes of Käthe Kollwitz, in Van Hell’s work, that sense of social commentary, rendered with such vulnerability. It reminds us that art isn’t about answers, but about questions, doubts, and that beautiful, messy struggle to make sense of it all.