Roodbaard de bandiet 1894 - 1959

This is *Roodbaard de bandiet* by Monogrammist G.J. and it's likely a lithograph, a printmaking technique using a flat stone or metal plate. The colours are applied economically, just enough to tint the forms with pale reds, blues, and yellows. There’s a beautiful tension between the implied story and the static, graphic quality of the image. The characters repeat across each frame of the narrative, like a set of modular components dropped into different scenes. Each figure is surrounded by a delicate, dark outline which flattens the image and adds to the character of the print. Look at the seventh panel where the bandit tips a bucket of wine over a prone figure. The bandit’s foot is a simple triangle and his squat proportions give the image a feeling of folk art. It reminds me of the Bay Area Figurative movement and artists like David Park who embraced a similar approach to figuration. Ultimately, it's a playful investigation of form that invites us to explore our own imaginative interpretations.