Studieblad met meisjes c. 1858

This is Bastiaan de Poorter's "Studieblad met meisjes," a pencil drawing now held at the Rijksmuseum. The paper is divided into two distinct panels, each filled with lightly sketched figures. The wispy lines create an airy, dreamlike atmosphere. The composition is fragmented. On the left, we discern a cluster of figures, while on the right, a solitary figure emerges from the hazy background. De Poorter's use of line and form destabilizes traditional portraiture. The sketches aren't fully realized, instead, they offer a glimpse into the artist’s process, a moment of becoming rather than a fixed state. The unfinished quality invites us to consider the relationship between intention and execution, representation and abstraction. It challenges our expectations of what constitutes a finished work of art. The drawing exists as an exploration of form, rather than a polished representation of reality.