Een goede waakhond 1894 - 1959

This page of illustrations, titled 'Een goede waakhond', or 'A Good Watchdog', is by an artist known only as Monogrammist G.J., and it's made with ink on paper. It's like a little comic strip, each panel a moment in a story. The colors here are straightforward, but it's the storytelling that grabs me. There’s a scene where the dog escapes his chain. I like how the simple lines of the chain and the dog's frantic pose show all the movement, even the sounds of chaos. It makes you wonder what mess he is going to make. The overall tone is really charming, kind of old-fashioned in its storytelling. It reminds me a little of the work of George Herriman and Krazy Kat. You can see him referenced in the simple but really effective drawings. You get so much information without a lot of fancy detail. Art is always a conversation, after all, with echoes and hints of the past showing up in surprising places.