Atlant met opgeheven rechterarm en rechterbeen 1878 - 1943

Willem van Konijnenburg made this pencil drawing of a male figure, "Atlant met opgeheven rechterarm en rechterbeen", but the exact date is unknown. Look at the figure's raised arm and leg, how they create this incredible tension, like a coiled spring. It's all about process here, as if Van Konijnenburg is feeling his way through the form, line by line. The way he uses the pencil, it's almost sculptural, as if he's carving the figure out of the paper itself. The surface is alive with marks, layered and smudged, building up a sense of depth and volume. The figure emerges from a haze of graphite, as though he is a memory. See how the shading around the muscles gives him a weightiness? It’s like you could reach out and feel the texture of his skin. You could almost compare this drawing to a Michelangelo study, finding the same fascination with the human form. But Van Konijnenburg brings a contemporary sensibility to it, embracing the ambiguity and incompleteness of the process. It is really beautiful.