Escal-Vigor II: Les Amis c. 1915 - 1920

Willem Arondéus made this drawing, Escal-Vigor II: Les Amis, using pencil, at some point in his career. The entire scene is rendered with dense, scratchy lines. See how the artist used these marks to build up texture, particularly in the landscape of rounded forms behind the embracing figures. It’s as though the drawing itself is an act of layering and construction, a process of building up images from fragments. Look closely at the area around the figures. The pencil work there is lighter and more delicate, which makes their embrace feel intimate, but also precarious, existing as they do, within the surrounding heaviness. The figures almost recall early Picasso, but the overall approach to form and space feels very distinctive. Artists like Arondéus show us that art isn't about achieving a definitive statement, but about participating in a visual conversation where everyone has something unique to contribute.