Draak 1928

Curator: This etching from 1928, titled "Draak," is by Willem van Konijnenburg. It’s a small but intense piece. Editor: It looks almost like an explosion of ink at first glance, but as I linger, I sense something… heavy. Melancholic, perhaps? The scale tricks the eye at first! Curator: "Heavy" is interesting, because Konijnenburg was, at this time, breaking away from some of the rigid confines of academic art. His expressive linework— that scratching and hatching—contributes to that sense of emotional weight, I think. You get the feeling of something both figurative and quite abstract all at once. Editor: The texture is incredibly active; the hatching feels almost frantic in places, then deliberate and careful elsewhere. The lack of clear contours invites a kind of participation—like you have to construct the form yourself. Is it portraiture then, if it lacks firm representation? Curator: Yes, in a way, that's a key element. Konijnenburg is playing with the *idea* of portraiture, not simply reproducing a likeness. "Draak," while translating directly to "dragon" in English, was apparently a nickname given to the depicted person; it reveals an attempt to delve into inner character rather than focusing on outward appearances. This fits well within some strands of early Modernism and Expressionism. Editor: The way the light and shadow interplay across this figure is mesmerizing, I’m left contemplating what the internal state of the model really might have been. So, "Draak"... almost a term of endearment then, turned into something enduring and quite introspective through these graphic marks? Curator: Exactly. It encapsulates the struggles of life, but then that hint of tenderness offers this odd sense of beauty. And in terms of artistic experimentation, seeing how he achieved so much depth and complexity with what amounts to, simply, lines—remarkable. Editor: Looking closely, it does encourage us to contemplate on identity, on fleeting human experience… I feel grateful to see what an artist’s attempt to catch that on a plate from so long ago still does to move me today. Curator: And, hopefully, encourages us all to examine what dragons we carry within!