The two

Two figures stand side by side on an otherwise blank sheet. At left, an elderly man in a peaked cap smokes a long pipe, one hand near a small shoulder bag, his profile turned toward his companion. Beside him, a bulkier figure is seen mostly from behind, wearing a heavy dark coat over rolled trousers and tall boots, head tilted back and to the side.

Quick, calligraphic pen lines define both bodies, fine and economical for the man at left, thickened into a dense, brushy black mass for his companion's coat, the only heavily inked passage on the page. The contrast between thin contour and solid black shape creates a lively, caricature-like rhythm and a dry, genre-scene humor.