Achterhoofd van een kind c. 1922 - 1925

Otto Verhagen made this sketch of the back of a child’s head with pencil on paper. The artist builds form from a mass of tiny lines, almost like he’s feeling his way around the shape. It’s not about capturing a likeness, but more about the process of observation. The weight of the head, the soft curve of the neck, it’s all there in the subtle gradations of tone. Look at the way Verhagen renders the ear, a delicate swirl of lines suggesting its complex structure. The whole drawing has a kind of vulnerability, emphasized by the emptiness of the page around it. It reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who also found profound beauty in simplicity and the everyday. It's this embrace of imperfection, this willingness to leave things open, that makes art so compelling.