Twee mannen in gesprek bij een kop koffie before 1945

Here we have Hans Borrebach’s drawing of two men talking over coffee. It’s probably from the mid-20th century, judging by the suits and slicked-back hair. The whole thing is lines, lines, lines. Look at the hatching on the suit of the man on the right, it reminds me of Futurist drawings, or even comic books. There is such a beauty in the way that the marks of ink both describe and create form. The suit of the man on the left is rendered with a pattern of dots, giving it a kind of optical shimmer. I love the way that the solid black shapes of the coffee cups are rendered, they have a sculptural presence in the relatively sparse scene. Borrebach’s ink drawing makes me think of artists like Philip Guston, who were similarly able to build entire worlds with just a few lines and shapes. It really shows how, with art, a little can go a long way.