Portretkop van een jonge man met gladgekamd haar c. 1892

Editor: This is "Portretkop van een jonge man met gladgekamd haar," or "Portrait Head of a Young Man with Slicked Hair," made around 1892 by Julie de Graag. It's a pencil drawing on paper currently held at the Rijksmuseum. The sketch-like quality makes it feel so intimate, like we're looking at someone's private thoughts. What do you see in this piece, beyond the surface? Curator: It's fascinating how a seemingly simple sketch can open up dialogues about representation and the male gaze. We see this young man, but who is he in relation to the artist, Julie de Graag, a woman working in a male-dominated art world? What power dynamics are at play when a woman depicts a man in this era? Editor: That's an interesting point. I hadn't thought about it in terms of the artist's gender influencing the portrayal. Do you think her perspective alters how we, as viewers, perceive the subject? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the late 19th century: male artists often objectified women in their work. De Graag's portrait, however, avoids that. There’s a vulnerability in his face, an almost melancholic air. Could this be a commentary on conventional masculinity? Perhaps a softening, a humanizing, through the eyes of a female artist? How might a male artist have rendered this same subject? Editor: So, rather than just a portrait, it's a potentially subversive act? Curator: Precisely! It challenges traditional power structures and artistic conventions. It's an intersection of gender, artistic expression, and societal expectations. This challenges us to ask, Whose stories are being told, and through whose lens? Editor: Wow, I never would have seen all of that just looking at the drawing itself. I’ll definitely think about portraits differently from now on. Curator: Exactly. It is never *just* a portrait!