Meisje en een dienstmeid in een keuken 1885 - 1938

Gillis Bernhard Mulder made this drawing of a girl and a maid in a kitchen, likely with pen and ink, creating a world from simple marks. The lines are confident, even playful, which gives the whole scene a sense of ease. Art is always a process of building something from nothing. Look at how Mulder uses the hatching to create shadows and textures. See the little black cat, its fur suggested by quick, dense strokes, and how it contrasts with the smooth, flat planes of the floorboards. The way the artist suggests light and shadow gives a sense of depth and volume to the figures and objects, and how the eye wanders around the image in a dance. There’s something about the way Mulder renders everyday life that reminds me of a more contemporary artist, someone like Marcel Dzama. Both artists share a certain fondness for the absurd and a willingness to embrace ambiguity, to create art that invites questions rather than providing answers.