Portretten van een man en vier vrouwen 1890 - 1922

This is a sketch of a man and four women by Johanna van de Kamer. I love the way she’s used line here, so delicate and exploratory, you can really feel her thought process as she works through the composition. The paper has a beautiful, aged tone, and the pencil lines are so light, they almost float on the surface, like ghosts of ideas. Look at the way she's layered the faces, one on top of the other, creating this sense of depth and maybe even a bit of mystery. It's like she's trying to capture not just their likeness, but also a sense of their presence. There's a real intimacy to this piece, like we're getting a glimpse into her sketchbook, her private thoughts. The way she's captured the tilt of their heads, the curve of their necks. It reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker, both in its simplicity and the way it hints at something deeper, something unspoken. Art is such a great conversation, right?