Ontwerp voor beeld van Christiaan de Wet c. 1873 - 1939

This is Joseph Mendes da Costa's, "Ontwerp voor beeld van Christiaan de Wet," a pencil drawing. It seems like he was really thinking through the sculptural form of the human body. The light pencil strokes and soft shading give the figure a kind of quiet presence. Notice how the artist uses the pencil to suggest the weight and volume of the body, especially around the torso. There is an absence of details that adds to the figure's ambiguity. It’s like we’re seeing the underlying structure, not just the surface. It reminds me of some of Rodin's sketches, where he's also exploring the raw, almost primal aspects of the body. It makes you think about what we choose to reveal and what we leave unsaid, both in art and in life. It’s a good reminder that sometimes, the most powerful statements are the ones that embrace the unfinished.