La chatte sur le balustrade 1929 - 1932

This is "La chatte sur le balustrade" or "The Cat on the Balustrade" by Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac. It's all in thin, scratchy lines, like he's drawing with wire. I imagine him, leaning in real close, squinting through one eye at the cat. It's that moment of observation, trying to catch the essence of a cat lapping at a bowl of something. He’s probably trying to find the right line, the one that zings with life. There's something urgent about the marks, and he’s working fast, capturing the curve of the cat's back, the angle of its head. You know, I bet he was looking at other printmakers, like Rembrandt or Goya—all those people trying to figure out how to describe the world with a single line. It's like a secret language they all share, across time. He is in conversation with them.