Officers near the carriage 1905

Boris Kustodiev made this drawing, Officers near the carriage, with crayon and pencil, hatching and cross-hatching his way into an intriguing scene. I can imagine Kustodiev’s hand moving quickly, capturing the scene with energetic strokes. He's thinking about line and form but also humor and satire, the pomposity of military life and the awkwardness of social encounters. What's going on with that little man in the carriage? Is he trying to hide? The muted tones give the drawing a sense of history, like an old photograph faded with time. The texture of the paper shows through, reminding us of the physical act of drawing, the artist's hand pressing down, leaving a trace. It makes me think of Daumier, another artist who used drawing to comment on the absurdity of social life. Artists, you know, we are always building on each other's work, riffing on each other's ideas. It's a big conversation across time.