Aan het voederen 1874 - 1929

Willem van der Nat made this pencil sketch, 'Aan het voederen', sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. There’s a real tenderness in the observation here, the hatching and sketchy outlines giving a sense of movement and transience, as if the artist quickly captured a fleeting moment. I am really drawn to the area showing the folds of the girl’s skirt. See how the lines vary in pressure and direction, creating a sense of volume and depth? It’s a masterclass in economy, suggesting so much with so little. There’s an intimacy to the work. You can feel the artist’s hand at play, testing and refining the composition. It reminds me of some of Käthe Kollwitz’s drawings, particularly in its focus on everyday life and its sensitive rendering of the human figure. Of course, there’s no way of knowing for sure if one artist knew the others work, but that’s what’s so magical about art, isn’t it? It's all part of an ongoing conversation, a constant exchange of ideas across time and space.