Zittende oudere vrouw aan een tafel en kippen 1885 - 1931

Willem Bastiaan Tholen made this energetic sketch of an older woman and chickens with graphite. Looking at the quick, scratchy lines, I can almost see Tholen rapidly capturing the scene before him. I wonder what he might have been thinking about as he was sketching? Did he know this woman? Was she a neighbor? What were her thoughts? The sketch feels very intimate, as if we're peeking into a quiet, private moment. I'm also drawn to the way he captures the chickens, all huddled together. It reminds me of how an abstract painter like Guston would approach a pile of legs or shoes—treating them as forms, almost sculptural in their weight. This reminds me that every drawing and painting is part of a longer conversation, an exchange of ideas between artists across time. I think that artists are always looking at one another's work for inspiration, picking up new ideas, and pushing the boundaries of what art can be.