Portret van een Soendanese man 1920

This portrait of a Sundanese man was made by Willem Witsen with pastels on paper. I like to imagine Witsen delicately layering one color over another, using thin strokes, gently building up tone and texture. It’s so interesting to see how a portrait unfolds; how the artist’s hand coaxes a likeness from a blank surface. Witsen subtly captures the light in the man's eyes, and the soft modeling of his cheeks. See how he renders the intricate details of his headdress with precision and care, while the rest of the image remains suggestive. I wonder what Witsen was thinking as he made this drawing? Was he interested in capturing the man’s likeness, or in exploring the possibilities of the pastel medium? Was he thinking about other artists, about tradition, or about something else entirely? The act of painting is a conversation; artists are always responding to what has come before, reinterpreting and reinventing.