Jongeman die met zijn elleboog op een tafel leunt c. 1904 - 1912

Here is Ferdinand Oldewelt's sketch of a young man, made with graphite on paper. Look at the grid underneath the figure’s face. It’s like Oldewelt is using the tools of geometry to find the essence of the person. I wonder if he felt more connected to the guy by mapping him out like that? I like how the hand comes right up to his face, but doesn't touch it. The elbow is on the table, and the other arm almost fades away. Maybe Oldewelt was thinking about perspective, how some things come forward and others recede? The line seems so confident, like he wasn’t afraid to mess up. It reminds me of some of the drawings Picasso was doing around the same time. They were all looking for something new in how we see each other. It's like they're saying, "Hey, we're all just trying to figure it out, one line at a time!"