Jopie biedt een trommel aan bij een deuropening c. 1916 - 1917

Frans Lazarom made this little drawing of a gift exchange at a doorway with pen and ink. Look at how Lazarom uses line here. It's not just about outlining shapes, but creating depth. The density of marks on the woman’s dress, for instance, creates shading and a sense of volume. It's like the pen is dancing, isn't it? It reminds me of sketching in a cafe, letting the pen wander and discover the form. It feels so immediate and fresh. I’m drawn to how the cross-hatching on the paving stones pulls the whole image forward, and yet there’s something awkward about the linear perspective of the architecture. It's this tension between careful observation and intuitive mark-making that keeps me engaged. Lazarom’s work reminds me a bit of the illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley, with their love of detailed patterns and elegant lines. But where Beardsley could be quite formal, Lazarom is more playful, more human somehow.