Portret van prof. dr. Jan van Geuns 1874 - 1925

Editor: This is "Portret van prof. dr. Jan van Geuns," a drawing from sometime between 1874 and 1925 by Jan Veth. It's a pencil and graphite portrait on toned paper and housed at the Rijksmuseum. It feels incredibly intimate, almost like a fleeting glimpse captured in a personal sketchbook. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The very ephemerality you noticed, it sings to me! It feels like catching a thought, a breath, of Jan van Geuns himself. Look at the tentative lines; the artist isn't imposing a fixed identity but rather allowing us to witness a process of discovery. Do you see how the light dances on his brow, almost hinting at the weight of his knowledge? It reminds me of sketching people on the tram – trying to grasp the essence of a stranger in a few swift strokes. Editor: I see that, definitely the "essence of a stranger"... but it also feels like the start of a more formal portrait. A first step... a prep sketch, if you will. Curator: Ah, yes, the beautiful ambiguity! Perhaps it was meant to be a study, but then again, maybe Veth found something complete in this very rawness. What is “finished,” anyway? Isn't there a certain vibrant energy in the unfinished, the hinted-at? Notice, too, how the toned paper warms the overall mood. It's not just a likeness, is it? It's a mood, a whisper. Editor: That's a really lovely way to put it, like a whisper. I suppose that openness is why it's stayed with me. The toned paper almost makes the drawing glow from within. It makes me consider the beauty of the unfinished process. Curator: Exactly! Art, after all, isn’t always about resolution; it's about the journey of seeing and feeling. And hopefully, making others see and feel a bit, too.