17507 („Alma ich bin sehr gesund …“) 1932

John Elsas made this little watercolor, ink, and graphite drawing in 1932. It’s like a message in a bottle, or a postcard from a dream. The figures, rendered in delicate green washes, stand on what looks like an island made of pale yellows and browns. They remind me of characters from a children’s book, maybe something by Sendak, but with a tender, slightly melancholic air. I wonder what Elsas was thinking as he painted them? The hesitant touch of the brush, the way the colors bleed into each other – it all feels so intimate and personal. The line quality seems untrained, and yet, there is something so raw and beautiful about that, like a direct line to his inner world. It makes me think about how paintings are like conversations between artists across time, where we share our vulnerabilities and strangeness and find solace in each other's company.