Fetters c. 1919

Jean-Louis Forain made "Fetters" with what looks like charcoal or conte crayon. You can see the looseness of the marks all over. It’s like he's thinking out loud with the drawing. Look at the way the figure on the right is slumped on the bed. The lines are so scratchy and unsure, but they capture a feeling of exhaustion and defeat. Then you have the figure on the left, standing tall, holding the chains. There's a tension between these two figures, created by the contrast between the freedom of line work and the weighty subject matter. Forain reminds me a bit of Daumier, both of them capturing these everyday dramas with a kind of raw honesty. Ultimately, what I love about this piece is the way it leaves so much unsaid. You're left to fill in the blanks, to imagine the story behind this scene. And that, for me, is what makes art so compelling.