Karikatuur van een letterkundige 1923

Erich Wichmann made this small drawing, Karikatuur van een letterkundige, with graphite on paper. It’s all delicate lines and smudgy shadows. I can imagine him, bending over the paper, the tip of his tongue poking out as he concentrates. The side of the face is rendered with just one confident stroke. Notice the ear, a swirl like a snail shell. Then, above, a dark cloud of graphite, the suggestion of hair or maybe just a thought bubble. Look at the way he’s captured the essence of a person with so little. It reminds me of some of Philip Guston’s late drawings, that same sense of immediacy and humor. I feel like Wichmann knew this literary figure intimately, poking fun but with affection. Like a little joke between friends, sketched on a napkin. It’s fleeting, immediate, and full of life.