Den lille hvide kat 1925

Niels Skovgaard made this pen and ink drawing of a family scene sometime around 1925. The marks are so descriptive, so many tiny strokes building up form! The overall effect is like a memory being assembled right before your eyes. I love the scratchy texture of the lines. It feels like Skovgaard is feeling his way through the scene, searching for the right way to describe each figure and object. Look at the way he renders the man’s beard on the right side of the table. The ink isn’t simply shading the face, instead it’s an active, vibrating field of marks. Skovgaard reminds me a little of the German artist George Grosz, with his satirical eye and economical, yet expressive line. Both artists use drawing to capture the world around them with a sense of humor and criticality. It’s a beautiful example of how art can be both representational and deeply personal at the same time, don’t you think?