Kop 1840 - 1880

Johannes Tavenraat created this drawing with pen in brown ink on blue paper. The composition immediately presents us with a study of a head in profile, rapidly sketched yet intensely evocative. The use of brown ink against the blue paper creates a stark contrast, emphasizing the lines and contours of the subject's face and clothing. The marks give the image an energetic feel. The power of the work lies in its use of line to convey form and texture. Tavenraat destabilizes the conventional portrait by using the lines which are far from idealized. Rather, the rawness with which the head is rendered exposes the materiality of human existence. Consider how the artist used a simple medium to challenge conventional portraiture to leave a work that exists within the framework of how we perceive and represent reality.