Hoofd van een jongen met een grote hoed op 1660

This is Moses ter Borch's "Head of a Boy with a Large Hat," a drawing rendered in pen on paper. Immediately, the hat dominates, its broad brim casting the boy's face into shadow. Ter Borch masterfully uses line and shadow to create a sense of depth, particularly in the folds of the hat and the boy's soft curls. The young man's face, though simply rendered, exudes a quiet, introspective mood. The choice of a monochromatic palette limits the scope to line and form, emphasizing structure over color. Ter Borch transforms a simple sketch into a character study, using the hat not just as a literal object, but as a signifier of status or perhaps even a mask, obscuring as much as it reveals. Note the loose, almost casual strokes that define the lower portion of the figure against the more deliberate lines of the face and hat. This contrast encourages us to consider the interplay between the finished and the unfinished, and how they operate within the semiotic space of the artwork.