Portret van Nanne Fokke Hofstee 1976

Rein Dool made this portrait of Nanne Fokke Hofstee using crayon in 1976. The sketchy quality gives it such an immediacy, like Dool was trying to capture not just a likeness, but a fleeting thought. There's a real emphasis on process here, you can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the page. The crayon is applied with varying pressure, creating a range of tones that give the portrait depth. See how the lines around the eyes and mouth are darker and more defined, really digging in there? Then, the shading on the cheek and forehead is much softer. The whole thing is about the push and pull between the crisp lines and the smudged shadows. It reminds me a little of the drawings of Philip Guston, particularly in the way it uses line to suggest form. But where Guston is all about angst, this feels more like quiet contemplation. It shows art as a form which embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations.