Alleen uw gift is in staat deze kinderen te helpen. Vereeniging Hulp voor onbehuisden c. 1914

Willem Pothast made this poster to support homeless children. The limited palette feels bleak and wintry, but it also speaks to the directness of his appeal. The paint is thin, almost like watercolor, and the strokes are quick and sure. Look at the child on the left. The coat is just a few dark strokes, but you get the feeling of its weight. The artist hasn’t laboured over details, but instead has captured the essence of the children. Pothast's approach reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, who used a similar economy of line and form to depict the hardships of working-class life. But what I appreciate most here is how Pothast finds a way to balance the sadness of the subject with a sense of hope and possibility. Art, like life, is full of contradictions. It’s not about resolving them, but about holding them together.