Three Companions (Les trois compagnons) 1912

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen made this print called Three Companions, we don’t know when, using etching. The cross-hatching creates depth, especially in the group of figures on the left. The one pointing seems to be making a statement, but the figure on the right is gaunt, almost spectral, and seems preoccupied. Are they listening? Looking closely, the etched lines create a stark contrast, and there’s this incredible tension between the detailed foreground and the empty sky, achieved using only the barest of means. It reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz’s prints. Each mark feels considered, economical, but emotionally charged. You could say that the image is essentially about mark making and the power of process. It shows the beauty in simplicity, that art can be a conversation with oneself, and with the world. It doesn’t need to be pretty, it needs to be felt.