Man achter een bureau 1900 - 1935

An anonymous artist made this snapshot of a man behind a desk at an unknown time. The grayness of the image adds to the overall impression of the scene. You can almost feel the weight of his labor. The man is sitting, hunched perhaps, at his cluttered desk. Piles of paper seem to be everywhere, threatening to bury him under the weight of correspondence and printed matter. Look at the typewriter, probably a very modern and expensive tool at the time, a promise of efficiency which may not have delivered on its promise. I can’t help but imagine the scene: the sounds of the typewriter, the clatter of the keys, the shuffling of papers, and maybe a muttered curse. As someone who spends a lot of time in my studio, I feel for him. I bet, like me, he probably needs to get out more! Artists like painters are in an ongoing conversation, where all the paintings of the past have been lying in wait to be discovered. This anonymous snapshot reminds me that we all need a bit of chaos, even in the most ordered environments.