Swine before Amersfoort 1915

Rik Wouters made this drawing with brush and ink, and its title is 'Swine before Amersfoort.' Just look at the confidence in those marks! The way Wouters uses thick and thin lines – some bold and decisive, others almost tentative – to create these hulking pig shapes. There's a real energy in how the brush zips around, capturing the essence of these animals with such economy. I can imagine Wouters standing there, maybe in a field just outside Amersfoort, quickly sketching these pigs. Was he battling the wind? Did the pigs stay still? He probably wanted to capture their weight, their bulk, their earthiness. And he's done it, the swine are full of life. There’s a dialogue happening here between observation and abstraction, or maybe memory, as Wouters simplifies the forms, reducing them to their most essential qualities. Drawing becomes a way of seeing, feeling, and thinking all at once.