Figuren en spelende kinderen bij een fontein op het Koningsplein te Brussel 1930 - 1938

This drawing by Otto Verhagen uses graphite to depict figures and children playing by a fountain in Brussels. I love how the pencil almost seems to dance across the page. I can picture Otto Verhagen sitting in the square with his sketchbook, trying to capture the feeling of that day. There's a sense of spontaneity in the lines, like he's trying to catch the fleeting moments of childhood joy. The marks are quick and expressive, conveying movement and energy. He must have been thinking about the relationship between space and form, how a few simple lines can evoke an entire world. I feel like I am in conversation with so many artists when I create my own works, even someone from the past. Paintings and drawings like this one offer a way of experiencing the world through touch, gesture, and emotion. Instead of a photographic depiction, it invites us to participate in the construction of meaning, engaging with the embodied experience of making and viewing art.