Proust: Illustration 6. 1979

Maria Bozoky made this illustration of Proust, most likely with watercolour and ink, and it really zings with spontaneity. It’s the kind of drawing that feels like a quick sketch, but holds a lot of depth. The texture here is amazing; you can almost feel the rough grain of the paper, and the way the colours bleed into each other adds a dreamlike quality. Look at the way the blue wash behind the figure turns almost velvety, and then contrast it with the scratchy lines of the pen work. The drawing captures a sense of movement, of the figure almost caught in motion. I’m drawn to the small figure, like a shadow, and the way he seems to pull the eye into the distance, hinting at another world. I’m thinking about Picasso’s more figurative line drawings, especially the illustrations he did for books, as they too capture an essence of storytelling through simple form. What strikes me most is the feeling that this image is a fragment of a larger narrative, a glimpse into a world that keeps unfolding.