Lezend meisje aan een tafel c. 1900 - 1930

This drawing of a girl reading at a table, is by Elly Verstijnen, and it’s made with ink, or maybe pencil, on paper. I’m drawn to the artist's mark-making – these confident, almost cartoonish lines that build the image. The texture is created by the density of the lines, whether it's the vertical lines of the dress, the soft mass of the hair, or the shaded areas under the table. The stark contrast of black and white adds to its graphic feel. The artist uses line to create form, shadow, and detail. Look at the way the lines curve to suggest the roundness of the lampshade, or how they vary in thickness to define the folds of the tablecloth. It’s all so deliberate. The drawing reminds me of the work of artists like George Grosz, who used line in a similar way to capture the mood of a time. It shows that art is a conversation across time, a back-and-forth of ideas and techniques. It reminds me that there are always multiple ways of seeing and interpreting the world.