Pepita steekt de vingers in haar oren terwijl een man tegen haar praat before 1948

Hans Borrebach made this drawing, Pepita steekt de vingers in haar oren terwijl een man tegen haar praat, using pen and ink on paper. It’s all in black and white, and the lines are super clean. Everything is clearly delineated with hard edges. The hatching shows a tonal contrast which feels precise and controlled, like there’s no room for error. Look at the woman’s hands, how firmly she is pressing her fingers into her ears! You can tell by the dark tone of the shading that she is really going for it. I can see how the precision of the lines builds a narrative, but it also sets a mood, a kind of stoic tension. This reminds me a little of some of the graphic novels by Chris Ware, but it also feels like it could be an illustration for a mid-century advertisement. Ultimately, though, the beauty of art is that it can be both things at once. It leaves space for mystery and ambiguity, just like the things that make us human.