Max wijst een man de deur before 1948

Hans Borrebach made this drawing, "Max wijst een man de deur", sometime in the mid-20th century with ink on paper. It’s all stark contrasts, black and white, a real comic book noir vibe. You can tell Borrebach was really thinking about light and shadow, using these tightly packed lines to build up form. Look at the man being shown the door. The way the shadows pool under his hat and around his eyes, it’s pure drama. The lines are so clean, almost mechanical, yet they create a sense of depth and emotion. I bet he used a very fine nib pen, or maybe even a technical drawing pen, for those consistent lines. It’s all about precision and control. There’s something very George Grosz about this piece. The sharp angles, the cynical characters… it’s like a snapshot of a world on edge. Art’s always talking to other art, it’s one big conversation across time and space.