Staand kind 1890 - 1946

This is a pencil sketch by Cornelis Vreedenburgh, called "Standing Child," and it lives here at the Rijksmuseum. I love the idea of seeing a standing child as a kind of experiment, a way of seeing what can be captured with a few light touches. There's a gentleness to the graphite, which is so soft on the page. Look at the way he’s built up the shadows on the figure in the suit, there’s a real weight to it. It reminds me of a kid's drawing, but one done with careful observation, which is kind of amazing. The light and airy feel of the drawing also reminds me a bit of Matisse, especially the way he used line to suggest form and movement. It’s like Vreedenburgh is saying, "Here's a kid, standing, full of potential, and I'm just here to capture a bit of it." It’s a reminder that art, like life, is always in process, always becoming.