Illustration for book by V. Totovents 'Life on the old Roman road' 1934

This illustration for V. Totovents' book, 'Life on the old Roman road' is made with ink, or something like it, and what strikes me is the sheer amount of lines that create tone and volume, it's like the artist is thinking through touch, mapping out the forms with a frenetic energy. I'm particularly drawn to the way the cow is rendered, grazing with a simple bucket next to it. You can almost feel the animal’s presence, solid and calm against the more animated linework of the background. The artist is playing with contrasts, setting up soft against sharp, static against dynamic, which to me is what it feels like to be alive, you know? This piece reminds me a little of Picasso's line drawings, where a few strokes capture the essence of a form. It’s all about seeing and feeling, rather than just representing, and in that sense, it’s a conversation that keeps going, echoing through time and different artists.