Ontwerp illustratie voor King Lear van Shakespeare: Koning Lear en Cordelia gevangen 1878 - 1948

Jacob Pieter van den Bosch made this illustration for Shakespeare’s King Lear with pen and ink, and it’s all about lines, lines, lines. Look at how he uses them to build up texture and form – it's like he’s thinking through the image. The piece has this great graphic quality, a real boldness in the black and white contrast. The lines create shading and detail, but also a kind of emotional weight. Check out the faces of King Lear and Cordelia, so much is conveyed with so little. I love how the ink bleeds in places, giving it a raw, immediate feel. It’s almost like you can see the artist wrestling with the story right there on the page. Van den Bosch reminds me a little of Kathe Kollwitz, another artist who understood the power of the drawn line to convey both social commentary and deep human emotion. Art like this reminds us that drawing is not just about representation; it’s about thinking, feeling, and connecting.