Composition (The Cow) 1917

Here's an audio guide entry for 'Composition (The Cow)' by Theo van Doesburg. This piece, a drawing really, looks like it was quickly captured by van Doesburg, maybe in a field somewhere. You know, he starts with these sparse, angular lines, trying to pin down the essence of the animal. I wonder, was he trying to get at some deeper truth about the cow, reducing it to its most essential forms? The lines are so deliberate, yet the whole thing feels provisional, like a fleeting thought. The texture of the paper peeks through, adding to this feeling of immediacy. I can almost see his hand moving across the page, searching for the right angles. This is not just a picture of a cow; it's a record of the artist's thinking, his attempt to distill the world into something new. It makes you wonder about all the other artists who've looked at cows, what they saw, and how they transformed it into art.