The Neighbor's Daughter or Spring Fever (Nachbars Lenchen oder Frühlings Erwachen) 1919

George Grosz made this drawing with ink on paper; it’s called "The Neighbor's Daughter or Spring Fever," but the date is unknown. The image is constructed from simple, searching lines – an emerging form which the artist has traced and retraced. It feels like he is really looking as he draws. The female figure is awkwardly posed, with subtle imperfections. I can imagine Grosz staring intently at his subject, trying to capture something raw and real. There’s a frankness to the image, not so flattering! The addition of the Cupid-like figure with the arrow feels like a wry comment. Like Grosz is saying something about the nature of desire and how it can feel strange or funny or even grotesque. Grosz's work often has a satirical edge, but there’s a humanism too. You can see a lot of the influences of Otto Dix and even maybe echoes of the earlier German Expressionists. Artists, we are always looking at each other! We build upon the past, conversing across generations. Painting and drawing is not about achieving some perfect rendering but about working through your own feelings and understanding the world.