Boer uit Laren, Noord-Holland 1902

This is a portrait of a farmer from Laren, North Holland, painted by Martinus van Regteren Altena. There's a real tenderness in the way Altena approaches the figure, like he’s known this guy his whole life. Looking closely, you can see the skin is rendered with all these little marks, all these tiny brushstrokes that create the texture of his face. The colour palette is muted, a mix of earthy browns and greys, but within that there's a surprising amount of variation, like the subtle blues in the eyes. It's almost like the painting is built up from the surface of the skin outwards, from these small marks that accumulate into a whole image. The coat the farmer wears is built with a dark, yet fragmented quality, perhaps reflecting the inner world of the sitter. I’m reminded a little of someone like Van Gogh, who also had this incredible ability to find beauty in the everyday. Both of them knew how to look deeply and how to let that looking inform the whole process of making a painting.