Heeres richt de Democratische Partij op, 1921 1921

Patricq Kroon made this drawing, "Heeres richt de Democratische Partij op", in 1921. It’s all done with these wonderfully insistent lines, hatching and cross-hatching to build up form, like he’s knitting with ink. The whole thing has this nervous energy, a jittery excitement. Look at the way he's rendered the figure on the left, all these tight, frantic lines building the form of the suit. The clouds of smoke are just wiggly outlines. It’s like Kroon is trying to catch a fleeting thought before it disappears. The way the one figure is drumming, beating out a rhythm for the Democratic Party, next to another cloaked figure. It reminds me a little of Honoré Daumier, with that same eye for political satire. But Kroon's mark-making is all his own, scratchy and alive. This piece reminds us that art isn't about perfection, it's about the messy, beautiful process of trying to make sense of the world.