Atlant met opgeheven rechterarm en rechterbeen 1878 - 1943

Willem van Konijnenburg made this drawing, Atlant met opgeheven rechterarm en rechterbeen, using graphite on paper. It's the kind of drawing you do when you want to get good at drawing. You can see the artist thinking through their pencil, working out the weight, balance, and form of the body. I wonder if Van Konijnenburg knew he was taking part in a long, ongoing conversation with other artists, all trying to figure out how to render the human form. Those careful lines of shading, each one placed with intention, bring his figure to life on the page. You get the sense that Van Konijnenburg isn't just copying what he sees, but that he is trying to understand something about the way the body works, how its muscles flex and its bones support it. This drawing becomes an exploration, not just of anatomy, but of the artist's own ability to see and understand the world around him.