Kop van een Huizer boer 1926

Johan Henri Gustaaf Cohen Gosschalk made this head of a farmer, and it’s all about the subtle shifts of grey, pink, and brown in the face. I can almost feel the powdery give of the chalk or pastel as it moves across the textured paper. Imagine the artist coaxing this face into being, layer by layer, a bit of pink for the weathered cheeks, grey to show the shadow on the neck. There’s a gentleness, a real empathy in the way he renders this man’s face. It reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker's portraits, that same kind of quiet dignity. The old farmer gazes back at you, his pale blue eyes steady and calm. You can feel the weight of a life lived outdoors in his weathered skin. What is amazing here is that artists keep each other alive. They keep each other thinking. Every artist is in dialogue with every other artist.