Koppen van een jongen en een vrouw c. 1905

This sketch of heads of a boy and a woman, probably made by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet with graphite pencil, feels intimate, like a page from a personal sketchbook. I love the immediacy of sketches! It's all about how the artist’s hand moved across the paper. Look at the quick, searching lines of the woman’s hair, and then the face of the boy. The artist is trying to get something down quickly, but also trying to understand what they are looking at. It's this combination of speed and searching that makes this piece so alive. Think about the artist, Cachet, sitting somewhere, maybe on a train, and sketching to capture a fleeting moment. Maybe other artists, like Van Gogh, who sketched prolifically, were in his mind? I always like seeing the evidence of an artist's process. To me, it's not just about what is depicted, but about the artist and the viewer entering a shared space of inquiry. It's the ongoing conversation that keeps art so vital.