Portret van Wilhelmina van Pruisen 1905

This is a print of a pastel portrait of Wilhelmina van Pruisen, made in Munich in 1905 by Verlaganstalt Fr. Bruckmann. The print is a study in soft, muted tones, mostly grayscale, and the subject has an air of detached amusement. What I find striking is the contrast between the tight, controlled detail in her face and the looser, more gestural rendering of her hair and clothing. The ruffles around her neckline are a flurry of hatched lines and broken edges. It looks as though the artist wanted to convey a sense of movement and volume without getting bogged down in fussy details. This willingness to embrace imperfection feels very modern. I am reminded of the portraiture of Alice Neel, who was similarly interested in capturing the essence of a person, flaws and all, rather than striving for a purely idealized likeness. Art is always a conversation across time.