Vajda Lajos Parasztudvar 1935 1935

Vajda Lajos drew this "Vajda Lajos Parasztudvar" in 1935, probably with graphite on paper. It looks like the kind of drawing you might make absentmindedly, but it's not. It’s all lines, so simple, almost like a diagram. Look at how the lines defining the roof don't quite meet, but overlap. There's a similar looseness in the wonky fence and the tree. The shapes are simple, but it feels like the image is teetering on the edge of total abstraction. The whole drawing, with its open gate, feels like an invitation. It reminds me a little bit of Guston's simple late paintings. The forms are reduced to their barest essentials, but the simplicity lets you project onto it and draw your own conclusions. It's a beautiful drawing.