#23756 Juan Romero

The drawing presents three figures arranged in a tight composition against a stark black background. The artist employed a dense hatching technique throughout, creating a textural richness and visual complexity that obscures detail while simultaneously emphasizing form. All three individuals are rendered with exaggerated features – large eyes, prominent noses, and wide mouths – contributing to an overall sense of caricature or mask-like representation.
The figure on the left displays a grimace, teeth bared in what could be interpreted as either laughter or discomfort. The hair is long and falls forward, partially obscuring the face. A pattern of vertical lines covers much of the body, suggesting clothing or ornamentation. Similarly, the individual on the right exhibits an open mouth and wide eyes, conveying a sense of surprise or perhaps manic energy. This figure’s hair is similarly voluminous and obscures part of the face. The body is covered in a complex arrangement of diagonal lines.
The central figure stands slightly forward, appearing more directly engaged with the viewer. A broad smile reveals teeth, and the eyes are wide and bright. The clothing here is patterned with small squares, creating a sense of intricate detail. This individual seems to embody a more jovial or celebratory mood compared to the flanking figures.
The inscription 28.8.94 – CARNAVAL ALEMAN at the bottom provides contextual information, suggesting that this drawing depicts participants in a German Carnival celebration. The exaggerated features and dense hatching could be interpreted as an attempt to capture the chaotic energy and masked identities characteristic of such events. The artist seems interested not in realistic representation but rather in conveying a feeling – perhaps one of revelry, anonymity, or even a slightly unsettling sense of otherness. The lack of color further contributes to this effect, emphasizing the graphic nature of the work and focusing attention on the interplay of light and shadow created by the hatching.