Annotatie c. 1892 - 1897

Willem Witsen sketched this image in charcoal, where the faintest lines coalesce to form a human figure. It seems to represent a figure standing or moving, perhaps veiled, its features softly blurred, leaving much to our imagination. Consider how the act of veiling, shrouding a figure, is an ancient motif. Recall the veiled statues of antiquity, concealing deities from direct gaze, or the shrouded figures in funerary rites across cultures. In this sketch, the veil or blurring may speak to a concealment, a mystery, even mourning. Like the cyclical return of motifs in art, this veiling reminds us of the human desire to obscure and reveal. The psychological effect is profound: the obscured figure engages our memory, hinting at loss, inviting our own projections and interpretations. See how it resurfaces, evolving through history, in new contexts, its emotional power undiminished.