Studieblad, onder andere met figuren en een haan op een ton c. 1904 - 1906

This drawing by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof at the Rijksmuseum shows us figures and a rooster on a ton, made with ink on paper. Look at those sketchy marks, so alive! I imagine Dijsselhof with his pen, coaxing these figures into being. Look at the two women, one with a dog, the other carrying what looks like a basket, alongside chickens pecking at the ground, and a proud rooster perched on a barrel – there is a strange symmetry between the women and the barrel; a dog, and then a rooster. What’s the link? Dijsselhof uses these subtle lines to create a world that feels both familiar and dreamlike. The flock of birds in the sky look like a musical stave, adding an extra layer of depth to the scene. It’s like he’s inviting us to step into his imagination, where the everyday and the whimsical dance together. It reminds me of other illustrators like Aubrey Beardsley, or even Philip Guston, who knew how to make the simplest mark carry so much weight.