Portret van Jan Hamdorf en W. van der Pluym 1889 - 1949

Herman Moerkerk made this sketch, Portret van Jan Hamdorf en W. van der Pluym, with pencil, on paper. I love how he’s stacked these figures on top of each other. Look at the gentleman on the top left - he's leaning forward, pointing, ready to offer you some compelling information, some hot take! And beneath him a bearded man, listening intently, hanging on his every word. Moerkerk has caught this inky moment, this brief, and likely humorous exchange between two people. I wonder if Moerkerk worked on site. It feels like he quickly captured what was in front of him, in real time, without too much planning. Drawing is so good for that: it’s such an immediate, satisfying, and thinking medium. Painters are always having a dialogue with the past: they’re always in conversation with each other, picking up on things, riffing off ideas, copying and sharing, adding their own flair. Painting is a form of expression that embraces ambiguity and change. It allows for multiple readings, and new interpretations - again, and again.