Hand die een voorwerp vastpakt c. 1887 - 1892

Editor: Here we have "Hand die een voorwerp vastpakt," or "Hand Holding an Object," a pencil drawing by Willem Witsen, made sometime between 1887 and 1892. It’s housed right here at the Rijksmuseum. I find the sketchiness quite intriguing; it feels so immediate and almost unfinished. What do you make of the piece? Curator: What intrigues me most is the line work itself. Note how Witsen employs hatching to model the form, concentrating the darkest areas around what appears to be the object in the hand. The very sparseness, the unburdened quality of the composition, highlights his understanding of tonal variation within a restricted palette. The choice of paper tone also warrants consideration, no? Editor: You mean the way the light paper allows for such delicate shading? Yes, I see that now. I was so caught up in trying to decipher what the hand is holding, I missed the more subtle aspects. It does lend a certain… lightness to the overall effect, even with those darker, more concentrated marks. Curator: Precisely. Dismissing the ambiguity of the "object," shift your gaze. Observe the elegance of the curvature. Each stroke appears decisive. Editor: It's almost like he’s captured a fleeting gesture, freezing it in time. Is the ambiguity deliberate, or is it simply a consequence of it being a sketch? Curator: Does its ambiguity necessarily diminish its worth? Consider the drawing as an exploration of form and light, where the ostensible subject is subservient to the act of drawing itself. This fragment offers an insight into the artist’s process, his very thinking in lines. Editor: I see your point. Focusing on the lines themselves really brings out a new level of appreciation. Curator: Indeed. Art is so often about how, not just what. Editor: Absolutely! Thank you, I'll definitely remember to think more about the artist's hand in the composition.