Goal III - Lucebert

A minimalist ink drawing by Dutch artist Lucebert, depicting two figures in a football match with fluid, expressive lines.

Lucebert, born Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk, was a central figure in the Dutch post-war avant-garde, notably associated with the CoBrA movement. His work often prioritised raw, spontaneous expression over academic refinement. This drawing, titled Goal III and dated 7 December 1971, captures his characteristic approach to line work: fluid, unhesitating, and deceptively simple.

The composition depicts two figures engaged in a football match. The artist employs a minimalist aesthetic, using clean, continuous black ink lines against a stark white background. The figures are rendered with exaggerated proportions and a sense of movement that avoids anatomical precision in favour of character and energy. The inclusion of a small, simplified goal in the background provides a sense of spatial context without cluttering the frame.

Lucebert’s draughtsmanship here reflects his broader interest in the immediacy of the creative act. By stripping away unnecessary detail, he directs the viewer's attention to the interaction between the players and the ball. The work demonstrates his ability to convey narrative and action through minimal visual information. The signature and date, placed firmly in the lower left, are integrated into the overall graphic balance of the piece. This print offers a clear view into the artist's later period, where his focus shifted toward more legible, yet still idiosyncratic, figurative subjects. It serves as an example of his enduring interest in the human form as a vehicle for expressive, often playful, visual storytelling.