Vrouwenkop in profiel naar rechts Possibly 1943

Editor: We’re looking at "Vrouwenkop in profiel naar rechts"— "Woman's Head in Profile to the Right"—a pen and ink drawing on paper, possibly from 1943, by Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita. It's surprisingly minimal. Just a few lines define the form. What’s your take? What do you see in this spare rendering? Curator: I see a ghost, almost. The delicate ink strokes are barely there, a fleeting impression. Perhaps it reflects the tumultuous times – the sketchiness, the uncertainty. Mesquita was, tragically, murdered in Auschwitz. This drawing, so tentatively rendered, could be a premonition, a life fading onto paper. Do you feel that fragility, too? Editor: I do. The sparseness now reads as vulnerability. I hadn't considered the biographical context so directly, but knowing that, it’s hard not to see it. The lines feel hesitant, like a whisper. Curator: Exactly. And notice how the profile faces *away* from us. There's a sense of withdrawal, a retreat into oneself. The cultural context here is crucial; it's a stark reminder of the personal tragedies woven into the larger narrative of war. Maybe Mesquita wasn't intentionally conveying doom, but the echo is certainly present. Or perhaps that's just me imposing a narrative on something so, as you say, wonderfully spare. Editor: I think the historical knowledge enriches the experience, but also… even without knowing the history, there is an ineffable air of sadness and absence about the work that affects us today. The beauty emerges from a sense of impending loss, regardless of where or when one is observing. Curator: Well said. Beauty and sorrow intertwined, then and now.