17239 („Er ist immer übereilt …“) 1932

This character by John Elsas, made using watercolour and pencil, presents a figure defined by its process. Look at the way the lines are built up, especially in the torso – it feels like Elsas is thinking through the form as he goes. The colour palette is simple, almost childlike, yet there’s something sophisticated in its restraint. The light blue hat anchors the composition, while the scribbled grey suggests movement, almost a nervous energy. See how the legs are just two lines? It's the essence of a figure, stripped down to its most basic. That scribble around the neck, is it a collar, a cloud, a thought? It’s this ambiguity that pulls me in. Art doesn’t have to answer questions, it just has to ask them. I’m reminded of Guston, another artist who embraced the power of the imperfect line. Elsas’ piece, like Guston’s, invites us to find meaning in the simplest of gestures.