Vier illustraties bij: Nannie van Wehl, De buren, 1907 before 1907

These four illustrations for Nannie van Wehl’s ‘De buren’ were made anonymously in 1907. They are quick ink drawings, dashed off to capture the mood of a story. I love the way the artist has rendered interior space. Look at the bottom left illustration, with the room turned on its side. See the upside-down bed? It feels like the world’s been turned on its head, which might give us a clue about the narrative. The cross-hatching feels urgent, like the artist is trying to get down the image as quickly as possible, to catch it before it disappears. It reminds me of my own process, trying to catch the feeling as it comes. The anonymous artist lets us glimpse a story without telling us what it is. It’s like a game of visual whispers. What do you think is happening in these scenes? Is it all a dream? We’ll never know for sure, and that’s ok. Art isn’t about answers, it’s about asking questions. Think of someone like Philip Guston, making similar kinds of work a few decades later.