The German Expelled 1919

Jean-Louis Forain made this drawing, called "The German Expelled," in 1919 with graphite on paper. It's all about the scratchy, restless lines that give it such an unsettled feel. Look at the soldier's coat, how Forain uses these short, sharp strokes to suggest the rough texture of the fabric. You can almost feel it, right? And that pressure, the way the other figure is guiding him, pushing him along, it's all in those lines. They're not just describing an action; they're conveying the tension, the weight of the moment. I’m reminded of Daumier; they both understood how to use simple marks to tell a whole story, capturing the human condition with just a few lines. Forain isn't giving us answers, he's inviting us to feel the weight of history, the ambiguity of human actions, and the power of art to hold space for it all.