Portrait of Anne Zernike 1918

Jan Mankes made this portrait of Anne Zernike, and what strikes me is the stillness, the quiet observation. I can almost imagine him carefully mixing his paints, trying to capture the soft light on her face. It’s not a loud painting; it’s subtle, like a whisper. I wonder what it was like for him, trying to get that delicate balance just right, where the portrait feels both present and a little bit distant, lost in thought. The creamy surface gives her a sense of serenity, and the pale pinks on her face capture a gentle thoughtfulness. You can really see the influence of the old masters, the way the light is handled. We’re all in conversation with each other, with the past, trying to figure out how to translate what we see and feel into something real on the canvas. It's a beautiful exchange.