Compositie met gezicht en jockey te paard c. 1900 - 1962

This is a print called Compositie met gezicht en jockey te paard by West. I love the way this artist fearlessly draws right through the middle of a sad face. I imagine the artist, alone, leaning over a metal plate, etching away with their tools. They begin to pull the image from their mind's eye. There's a jockey on a horse in the background. Maybe West had gone to the races the day before and this is what stuck. The artist's lines are scratchy and uncertain, like a beginner's, yet confident, like an expert's. He, she, they, keep everything spare; the composition relies on as few marks as possible. Look at those sad eyes, and the way the artist simply loops the mouth. It reminds me of Picasso, of Picabia. Artists are always in conversation, don't you think? This feels like one friend talking to another.