Liggende zebu 1920

This etching, *Liggende zebu,* was made by Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, but the date of creation is unknown. Imagine Mesquita, carefully guiding the etching tool, letting the lines flow and converge to capture the essence of this reclining zebu. There's a simplicity here, a kind of reduction to the most essential forms. The lines are delicate, almost tentative, and the pale background has a hazy quality. It reminds me of sketches you do in a waiting room. What was he thinking as he drew? What did he want to say about this animal, about shape, about stillness? I wonder if he saw in its quiet pose something of his own creative contemplation. This piece is a reminder that artists are always in conversation with one another, and with the world around them.