Composition (The Cow) 1917

Theo van Doesburg made this small drawing, "Composition (The Cow)", at an unknown date with graphite on paper. The cow emerges from a dance of lines. It's all about how van Doesburg uses these basic marks to chase after an idea, playing with abstraction. Look at how he’s broken down the form into a series of lines, almost like he's searching for the essence of "cowness." There’s a real energy in those lines, some dark and decisive, others light and tentative. The way he layers and overlaps them creates this sense of movement, of a cow in thought, or maybe just chewing its cud. Check out the head area, how the lines converge, suggesting volume and weight without ever quite solidifying into a concrete form. You can almost feel him thinking through the drawing, each line a step in his process. It reminds me a bit of Picasso's studies, that same willingness to deconstruct and reimagine a familiar subject. Art’s like a big conversation, right?