Portret van To van der Sluys 1926

Herman Lugt made this portrait, "Portret van To van der Sluys," with graphite, sometime in the 20th century. I really feel for Lugt, trying to capture a person’s likeness with just a pencil. The face emerges softly from the paper, built up with layer upon layer of delicate marks. It’s like he’s feeling his way around her face, gently coaxing her presence into being. I bet he was trying to get it just right, rubbing out, and starting again. The way he’s handled the graphite is interesting, so subtle and tender, creating depth through tonal variation rather than heavy lines. It reminds me that every mark we make is a kind of inquiry, a way of feeling out what we know and what we don’t, and in the process, creating something new, or an illusion of someone real.