Kammerade. Porquoi cette froideur c. 1914 - 1919

Jean-Louis Forain made this drawing called Kammerade. Porquoi cette froideur with pencil, maybe charcoal, on paper. It’s all about the line, right? Like a cartoonist, Forain’s got this shorthand, sketchy way of making marks that feels immediate, like a thought caught on paper. The lines aren't precious, they're searching, finding form as they go. He is feeling his way through the figures. Look at the standing figure to the right, how his shape is barely described, compared to the other figure with his arms open. The contrast is striking. But that’s what’s so cool about drawing – it’s so direct, so unedited. It’s this process of thinking with your hand. It reminds me a bit of Daumier, you know, with that social edge and those raw, expressive lines. Both artists seem to be capturing something true about the human condition, and they do it with a kind of brutal honesty that I find really powerful. It’s not about beauty, it’s about something deeper, something real.