A Versailles. L’envoye des boches c. 1914 - 1919

Jean-Louis Forain made ‘A Versailles. L’envoye des boches’ with ink, and it’s all about the process of seeing, and feeling. The speedy, scratchy marks create a sense of immediacy, like a news sketch dashed off in a hurry. There’s a real physicality to the medium, you know? You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the page, the pressure of the pen. Look at the way he's built up tone with those frantic, scribbled lines – especially around the figure in bed. The marks are so full of energy! It's like he's trying to capture not just what things look like, but how they *feel*. Forain reminds me a little of Daumier, also a master of social commentary through drawing. Both artists share a knack for capturing the human condition with just a few strokes. Art is a conversation, right? Always building on what came before, finding new ways to see the world.