Portret van mevrouw van Tienhoven-Hoyack 1924

Simon Moulijn made this drawing of mevrouw van Tienhoven-Hoyack with graphite on paper. It’s this delicate dance of graphite, a push and pull to build up the face with many marks. I love the underdrawing of the cat. You know, drawing a portrait, you’re really looking, trying to figure out how to capture a likeness, trying to get inside a person. I know that struggle, that vulnerability to be seen. You want to get the eyes right, the mouth, the feel of the face, the mood. Then I notice a little sketch of a cat at the bottom - a cat thinking about the portrait? I get the sense that Moulijn was trying to put down something that was true for him - those details and observations of the world. You can imagine him just trying to do his thing, like all of us, in our own way. There is an exchange of ideas across time, inspiring creativity. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.