Hoofd van een vrouw 1915

Simon Moulijn made this head of a woman, sometime around 1915, in black ink on paper. It's a print, which means there's a matrix, a block that the image is transferred from, and that always makes me think about process. Look how the artist has carved out the different shapes, like the locks of hair, the planes of the face, and the subtle curve of the neck. Each mark is so deliberate, isn’t it? This work isn't trying to trick you into thinking it’s real, instead, it's presenting a world of simplified forms and contrasts. Consider the way the heavy outlines define the eyes and nose, giving the woman a strong, almost confrontational gaze. It’s like a mask, but one that still manages to convey a real sense of presence, something quite intimate. I think the German Expressionists, like Kirchner, did similar stuff with printmaking at the time. They also weren’t afraid of a bit of rough and ready mark making! Art is always a conversation, right?