Girl and Pug in An Automobile (sketch for Front Page Illustration in Vore Damer) 1927

Gerda Wegener sketched this image of a girl and pug in an automobile for the front page of Vore Damer. The color palette is just so evocative of the time, with the red of the car contrasting beautifully against the plaid of the girl's wrap. The crispness of the lines suggests a real sense of play, as if Wegener was improvising as she went, which makes it feel so contemporary. I keep coming back to the pug's expression. It's as if he's judging the world around him, or maybe he's just not a fan of car rides! The way Wegener renders the fur, with these tiny, delicate strokes, it's just so tactile. You can almost feel the softness of the dog’s fur. It reminds me a bit of Toulouse-Lautrec's ability to capture a sense of movement and energy in his drawings. Both artists, in their own way, invite us to see the world through their eyes, embracing its beauty and its imperfections.