Jopie biedt een trommel aan bij een deuropening c. 1916 - 1917

Frans Lazarom made this ink drawing, "Jopie biedt een trommel aan bij een deuropening" – or, "Jopie offers a drum at a doorway" – sometime between 1900 and 1936. I'm thinking about Lazarom at his desk, working out what's important about this scene and how best to represent it. He's chosen the places where the lines meet, using ink to fill in the space where light doesn't quite reach. The characters are all in a bit of shadow, so to get a sense of their individual selves we have to fill in the gaps, using our imaginations. In this drawing, the children are offering the woman a gift – a drum. Is it a peace offering? A birthday present? A thank you? I love that it's not spelled out. Instead, we get to enter the scene and decide what we think is happening.