Bezoekers, musici en een serveerster op het terras van Huis ter Duin te Noordwijk 1934 - 1938

Otto Verhagen created this ink drawing of visitors, musicians, and a server on the terrace of Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk. Look how Verhagen captured this social scene with such an economy of line. It’s all process here, the kind of swift, sure movements you develop from looking and looking, drawing and drawing. There's a realness, an immediacy to the work, and a sense of a quickly grabbed moment. I am drawn to the smattering of rouge red lipstick, the only splash of color in this monochrome sketch. The controlled looseness of the drawing, the way the figures bleed into each other, creates a sense of a transient moment. The composition suggests a snapshot of everyday life, but through Verhagen's eyes. It’s like an Egon Schiele drawing, all nervous energy and raw observation. These quick sketches always feel like they are part of a wider conversation about capturing fleeting moments. They leave you pondering the many ways artists see and interpret the world around them.