Two French Soldiers near a Notice Board c. 1914 - 1919

Jean-Louis Forain made this ink wash drawing of French soldiers sometime between 1852 and 1931. What I notice first are the gestural marks. Look at the looping, scratchy lines that build up the figures, it's almost as if the drawing is still in the process of coming into being. I imagine Forain standing in front of his subject, urgently trying to capture the scene with immediacy. You can see that urgency in the quickly applied strokes, especially around the bags at the soldiers feet, almost as if they could pick them up and be gone at any minute. The blank notice board stands behind the figures, what news could it be delivering? Good or bad? What are the soldiers waiting for? The artist doesn’t tell us, and that kind of ambiguity is what makes art interesting. As painters, we’re all in conversation with each other and with the world, and in that conversation, things remain open to interpretation.