Karikaturale koppen c. 1894

Julie de Graag made this series of caricature heads with pencil on paper, sometime before her death in 1924. The artist uses a consistent vocabulary of graphic marks to define the salient features of a number of anonymous faces. These sketches, preserved in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, are interesting because they reveal the artist’s critical gaze, and her sensitivity to the nuances of social types in the Netherlands at the turn of the century. Look at the way she exaggerates noses, eyes, and mouths in order to convey a sense of personality. It can be read as an exploration of social roles and identities during a time of significant social and political change in Europe. Was she interested in physiognomy, the pseudoscience of judging personality from appearance, or were these heads inspired by the carnivalesque traditions of the Netherlands? These sketches remind us that art is always embedded in specific cultural and historical contexts, and that we need to consult a range of sources if we are to understand it better.