Vrouw die een man insmeert met zonnebrand op het strand c. 1928 - 1930

Otto Verhagen made this drawing of a woman applying sunscreen to a man on the beach with ink and coloured pencil. Look at how the lines are loose, confident, and a little bit funny, like they’re in a hurry to capture the moment! The colors are pale and sandy, except for the strong black swimsuit and the unexpected pops of red and green in the footwear. I love the way the coloured pencil marks build up a kind of shimmering surface on the figures' skin. The guy is smiling – maybe he's thinking about how good that sunscreen feels, or maybe it’s the voyeuristic pleasure of being looked at by the man in the background! The whole scene feels like a casual snapshot, like a precurser to David Hockney's sun-drenched swimming pool paintings, but with a more tender and awkward touch. I guess art is always about seeing and feeling, even when you're just trying to capture a day at the beach.