Nieuwe bewoners 1900 - 1935

This line drawing by Patricq Kroon, titled "Nieuwe bewoners", roughly translates to "New Residents" in English. You can see two rather agitated-looking men facing each other in front of a building with the words 'atelier' or studio above the door. I like to imagine Kroon carefully laying down each line, figuring out how to make it both descriptive and expressive. There's a kind of anxious energy in the hatching around the figures, the way they're scowling. The artist seems to be saying something about the dynamics of rural life and urbanization, about tradition versus modernity. Maybe there's an inside joke here? And who are these new residents? This piece reminds me that as artists, we are always responding to our contexts, to the social and political landscapes that shape our lives. This is what links us across time and place, inspiring each other's work.