Voorstudie in gips voor Rembrandt-penning 1906

Johan Melchior Faddegon made this plaster study for a Rembrandt medal. It's about six inches across and an inch thick, a modest tribute to a master. What strikes me is the texture. It’s rough, not slick, like you might expect from a cast. The plaster is built up and worked into around the face and the lettering. Look at Rembrandt's cheek, how it catches the light. The artist has dug in, scraped and pushed, to find Rembrandt in the material. I see the hand of the artist, not the smooth perfection of reproduction. There's something humble about a study, an artwork that makes no claims to being a finished thing. It reveals the process, the searching and finding. It’s like Chardin’s humble still lifes, celebrating the ordinary. Art isn't just about the grand statement but about the quiet work of seeing. It’s about the conversation between artists across time.