Portret van Jan Hofker c. 1905

Editor: Here we have Willem Witsen's "Portret van Jan Hofker," circa 1905. It looks like a monochromatic painting or drawing, possibly oil or maybe watercolor? There’s a sombre feel about it, almost ghostly. What strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: "Ghostly" is a delicious way to put it! For me, it's all about layers – both the literal ones of the painting itself, and the implied layers of history and personality. The monochrome palette focuses our attention; there is little to distract from the subject's gaze, his carefully sculpted hair. The use of graphite gives a textural counterpoint. This man seems both present and distant, don't you think? As though he's sharing a secret, but only whispering it. Editor: Definitely! And you can almost see the artist's hand, the quick strokes. Is that intentional? To show the process? Curator: I suspect so. Witsen wasn't interested in slick perfection. The unfinished quality, the visible marks—they contribute to the intimacy of the portrait. It’s like he is saying, “Here is Jan, but here also am I, the one trying to capture him.” I wonder, does that unfinished quality heighten the melancholy, or does the vulnerability in it evoke a different emotion from you? Editor: That’s a lovely way to put it – a double portrait almost! It makes me see the vulnerability more. Curator: Indeed, there is something quite beautiful in its unfinished quality. Almost a study for something more, allowing a certain glimpse into a certain moment. Editor: Thank you. I'm not sure that I noticed that before. Curator: My pleasure. I think we sometimes have the instinct to treat everything as final, or static.