Fock en De Graaff in een krans 1921 - 1926

Patricq Kroon made this drawing of Fock en De Graaff with what looks like ink on paper. The marks are raw, immediate, almost like a thought caught in the act of appearing. The thickness of the line varies, giving weight to some areas, like the heavy garland slung around the shoulders of the figures on the left, and letting others fade into the background, like the palm trees behind. Kroon isn't trying to hide the process, the lines are left exposed like the bones of the image. Look closely at the way the faces are rendered, the hatched lines building up the shadows and volume. It's a study in contrasts: bold strokes versus delicate cross-hatching, solid forms against open space. Like a good Cy Twombly, the sketchiness gives it a lively, unfinished quality, inviting us to fill in the blanks. It reminds me of Daumier, with its caricatured figures and political undertones. It is this kind of conversation across time that keeps art alive.