Papegaaien 1920

Julie de Graag made this pencil drawing, Papegaaien, in 1920. What strikes me is the process – it's not just a static image but a record of how de Graag saw and thought about these birds. Look at the tails of the parrots. De Graag has broken them down into simple, almost geometric shapes, one stacked upon the other. There’s a real sense of reduction going on, as if the artist is trying to get at the essence of the parrot. The varying pressure and direction of the pencil strokes gives a sense of depth and texture to the image. The head, rendered as a simple, flattened form, is a brilliant move: it’s not just about capturing a likeness but about exploring the very idea of representation. The playfulness reminds me of drawings by Henri Matisse, in that each image creates its own logic, suggesting that art is an open ended conversation, a process of ongoing exploration.