Portret van Willem III, prins van Oranje 1904

This portrait of Willem III, Prince of Orange, was produced by Verlagsanstalt Fr. Bruckmann A.-G.. It feels like a study in texture, where the artist is really pushing the material to see what it can do. Look at the way the light catches the armor, it’s not just about depicting metal, but about making you feel the cold, hard surface. You can see the artist experimenting with light and shadow to bring out these contrasts, using these details to add depth and drama to the scene. There's a kind of tension here between the realistic portrayal of Willem III and the more expressive handling of the paint itself. It reminds me of some of Velazquez’s portraits, where the subject is ennobled, but the process is right there on the canvas. Art is all about the dialogue between what we see and how we see it, and this portrait is a great example of that conversation.