Handwerkende Joanne Lion Cachet-Cordes c. 1938

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this drawing, Handwerkende Joanne Lion Cachet-Cordes, with some kind of pen on paper. You know when you get into a state of flow, just letting your hand follow the feeling? That’s what this reminds me of. The lines are so economical, zipping around to capture the essence of Joanne’s concentration. Look at the way he suggests the weight of her hair with just a few scribbled loops and dashes. Or how the curve of her cheek and nose is rendered with a single, confident stroke. There's a real sense of immediacy, as if Cachet was trying to capture a fleeting moment, to pin down the feeling of Joanne at work. It’s interesting to think about other artists who also favored the simple line, like Matisse, or even some of the German Expressionists. Art is always in conversation, artists responding to and building upon what came before. It makes you wonder what Cachet was looking at, and what he was trying to say with this beautiful, unassuming sketch.