Jacob Christiaan Koningsberger (1867-1951). Chairman of the People's Council (1918-19) 1925 - 1929

Willy Sluiter painted this portrait of Jacob Christiaan Koningsberger, chairman of the People's Council, in oils and I can see how the paint has been layered and blended. Look how Sluiter has worked the surface, especially around the face. The paint seems thin but built up in glazes to create a likeness, but it's also kind of hazy and soft, and you can see the brushstrokes working to define the planes of the face. It's kind of beautiful how the details emerge from the background. The hands are interesting. They're less defined than the face, more gestural and a bit lost in the shadows. There's a feeling that Sluiter was maybe more interested in the face, or that he ran out of time or energy, and the hands are kind of sketched in. John Singer Sargent does this sometimes, too, and it's like they're saying, "Okay, I've got the important stuff, now let's just get this done!" It reminds me that art is never really finished, only abandoned.