Profiel (meisjesprofiel) 1920

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita made this print, Profiel (meisjesprofiel), with lithography. Look at those dark, moody strokes around the girl's face – it's like he's carving her out of the shadows, you know? I'm thinking about Mesquita in his studio, pushing and pulling at the image. The face is left as bare paper, but the black ink is so alive, it gives the face shape. You can feel the artist experimenting, letting the image emerge through trial and error. The thing about lithography is that it invites you to think about what is included and what is excluded. Every mark is so deliberate. It's like a dance between control and letting go. In his other works, Mesquita's imagery often dances with dark humor and fantastical themes. There’s an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time.