De twee kleine dieven 1894 - 1959

This print titled ‘De twee kleine dieven’ or ‘The Two Little Thieves’ was made by Lamouche with an unknown medium. The muted, almost pastel-like palette feels very Dutch to me, and the way the artist uses line is so playful and buoyant. It’s clear that the story is told through a series of vignettes, like a comic strip. I love how the figures are drawn with such simple shapes and gestures. Look at the way the artist renders the fabric of their clothes – it’s so flat and graphic, yet it still manages to convey a sense of movement and form. My eye is drawn to the little thief in the bottom left corner, mid-tumble. The awkwardness of his pose and the slight blurring of the lines perfectly capture the chaos of the moment. It reminds me of some of the early 20th-century modernists like Kirchner and Heckel who were so interested in capturing movement and energy. And like their work, this print is about more than just the story it tells; it's about the joy of mark-making and the energy of the line.