Zittende man op een stoel 1933

Henk Henriët made this drawing of a seated man with charcoal on paper. The thing about charcoal is, it’s all about process, right? You can't help but see the artist's hand in it. It’s right there on the surface. I love how Henriët uses the charcoal to build up these soft, smudgy textures, especially in the man’s dark sweater. It's like a field of gray, and when you look closer, there's so much going on. The way the charcoal catches the light and creates a kind of glow, it’s like he’s conjuring up form from the darkness. Look at the man’s hands, they're so carefully rendered, with all those delicate lines and shadows. It reminds me of a drawing by Käthe Kollwitz, who was also able to make a simple charcoal drawing feel so monumental and deeply felt. Ultimately it’s the power of Henriët's expression that really stays with you. It's proof that simple materials can lead to complex emotions.