Horse-Trading at a Country Fair 1929

Arthur Rackham made this pen, ink, and watercolour drawing of "Horse-Trading at a Country Fair" sometime in his lifetime, and it's all about the sketchy line. Rackham wasn’t trying to hide the process here; you can almost see the ghost of his hand moving across the paper. The colours are like a whispered afterthought, a sheer wash of browns and greys, that gives the image depth without weighing it down. Look closely at the faces of the horse traders. They are so carefully rendered with lines that capture every wrinkle and squint. It's this quality that makes the scene so intimate, like a snapshot of a moment caught in time. It puts me in mind of Honoré Daumier's lithographs, with their sharp social commentary and emphasis on line. Both artists capture the quirks of human behaviour and the everyday with a touch of humour. But Rackham's light touch and dreamlike quality sets him apart. It's not about realism, it's about creating a mood, an atmosphere where the everyday feels touched by the fantastical.