Portret van een Soendanese man c. 1921

Willem Witsen made this portrait of a Sundanese man with etching on copper. The whole thing has a kind of sepia wash over it, and it's built up with these really, really fine, tiny marks. It's almost like he's not just drawing a face, but also sort of building a world out of these tiny little lines. And it's so controlled, so precise, you can see the discipline in every stroke. Look at the way the light catches his cheek, and then the gentle hatching that builds the shadows on his neck. There is this overall quietness. The brown monochrome gives the portrait a sense of melancholy. It reminds me a bit of Whistler, the way he uses tone and suggestion, more than bold statement. Both artists understood that sometimes, what you leave out is just as important as what you put in. It's like they're whispering secrets to us across time.