Hurkende jongen en een staande vrouw met een sigaret c. 1922 - 1925

Curator: Looking at this sketch, there’s a sort of understated drama. Editor: Exactly! There’s something immediate and compelling about the texture and linework that I find attractive. Curator: Well, what we're looking at is a drawing by Otto Verhagen entitled "Hurkende jongen en een staande vrouw met een sigaret," created around 1922 to 1925. It’s rendered in ink and pencil on paper. The work captures two figures in simple strokes: a crouching boy and a woman with a cigarette. Editor: I love that Verhagen used the simplicity of pen and ink. It is just this act of observing and then quickly rendering a scene, a social study of the artist capturing a casual scene unfolding before him. Do you agree with my initial read as a study? Curator: Absolutely, you can read this study through the lens of social observation—a snapshot of a specific time and place. In the 1920s, women smoking became a contested symbol of modernity and liberation. The work might hint at the changing roles and visibility of women in public spaces. Editor: This connects to a discourse on materiality. Notice how the ink bleeds slightly into the paper—a simple yet visible record of the artist’s hand and the physical properties of his media? You can see in how Verhagen chose the materials a real tangible aspect of modern life being captured by contemporary means. Curator: Very well-observed. These pieces were often part of the larger visual culture—postcards, posters—that were shaping the public image of modern life. How they circulated contributed to their meaning. Editor: The contrast between the ephemeral nature of the sketch itself and the larger than life topic they cover interests me: women’s emancipation and its impact. Curator: Indeed, and it pushes us to consider art's role in mirroring and sometimes shaping societal attitudes. That quick capturing gives me pause and encourages thought. Editor: I love it. So interesting that by observing the humble medium itself, the paper and ink, the texture, that the art then gains context, historical grounding. Curator: Thank you for your comments, a good way to finish.