Gerard Nolst Trenité op de motorfiets 1909 - 1925

Patricq Kroon made this drawing of Gerard Nolst Trenité on a motorcycle, probably using pen and ink, and you can just imagine his hand moving quickly, hatching the lines to build up form and shadow. The image is so immediate, almost as if Kroon’s hand were trying to capture the energy of the subject. It's a bit like automatic writing—or drawing, I guess—with the artist trying to keep up with their subject. Look at the way he renders the smoke, and the spokes of the wheel! He’s made this guy Trenité look like a bit of a clown, literally putting him in a jester's hat! Maybe Kroon was making a comment on the nature of celebrity, or even of speed and modernity. All this makes me think about how images can be so immediate, funny, and critical all at once. As artists we’re always bouncing off each other, aren’t we?