Mansportret met gesloten ogen, profiel naar links 1874 - 1925

Curator: Look, a sketch from sometime between 1874 and 1925, housed here at the Rijksmuseum: "Man's Portrait with Closed Eyes, Profile to the Left," attributed to Jan Veth. Done with pen and ink, it appears. Editor: He looks…peaceful, doesn't he? Almost like he's dozing in a sunbeam. I love the immediacy of it, how the lines sort of vibrate on the page. Curator: Veth was a portraitist of some note; it's intriguing to see him at what seems like a more informal stage. Notice how the penstrokes build volume and texture. It hints at the labor of representation itself. Editor: There's a looseness, a willingness to let the hand lead. Did Veth consider sketches practice or finished works? Because I feel the rough energy. Curator: The market and patronage probably dictated that to a large extent. Sketches held different value based on social context. What seems spontaneous was often meticulously planned. We see in portraiture the hand of a craftsman trying to portray the sitter's character or class position. Editor: Right, so he was serving an audience. Yet, this man’s inner world… it's right there, too, isn't it? Like he’s drifted off thinking of someone he loved, maybe, or a good memory of childhood... Curator: Perhaps. The intimacy you sense may also derive from the material limitations. Paper was expensive, ink had to be made, light was precious. Every stroke carried weight, economic as much as artistic. Editor: You strip the romance right out of it, don't you? Even with constraints, those lines still quiver with life! I swear you could wake him. Curator: Well, such drawings served particular social purposes. And it’s always worthwhile considering the artist’s place within a network of production and reception, that they have to eat and maintain the basic means for making art in the first place. Editor: But there's something quite eternal in this fellow's brief reverie, whatever it costs to capture it... it resonates through the years. I'm moved. Curator: I agree that Veth's drawing, seen from our time, encapsulates many things about that historical time, material needs and values, in particular.