Zuster op een ziekenzaal c. 1900 - 1930

This black-ink drawing by Elly Verstijnen depicts a ward with children, presumably in a hospital. I imagine the artist working with a fine nib pen, allowing the drawing to gradually emerge. It’s so controlled, precise and economic with its marks. The nurse seems frozen, a static guardian watching over the children’s beds. What was Verstijnen thinking as she worked? Perhaps she was sympathetic to the situation, or maybe even critical of the institutions? The artist’s cross-hatching provides a certain definition to the figures. Even the lines of the window curtains suggest something beyond the interiority of the room, a life the children are excluded from. This drawing feels so much like a social commentary, reminiscent of Honoré Daumier’s prints, in which a few gestures can carry a full weight of meaning. Artists have always looked at each other, riffing on ideas, making something old into something new. It’s an ongoing conversation, one that embraces ambiguity and welcomes multiple readings.