Twee hand in hand lopende meisjes met een bolderkar c. 1922 - 1925

Otto Verhagen made this sketch of two young girls with what I think is a suitcase on wheels, but the title says it's a bolderkar. What's so sweet about this drawing is its simplicity - the artist is using fairly light pressure to sketch the forms of the two figures, and then the weight of the marks increases as it goes down the page, grounding the figures to the earth through shadow. Look at the quick strokes that build up the surface of the road - the drawing feels very open and free. The girls themselves are a little more shaded, but the surface of the paper is still visible beneath the marks. I wonder if Verhagen was thinking of Käthe Kollwitz, who also made really moving images of women and children, but I feel a very different attitude here. There is a certain lightness of touch in this drawing that invites you in, rather than confronting you with the realities of life. It's an image that is open to multiple interpretations and feelings.