Rokende man 1830 - 1887

Curator: A striking portrait confronts us here, "Smoking Man" by Johan Hendrik Koelman, estimated to have been created between 1830 and 1887. It's a work rendered in pencil, currently residing here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It feels so immediate, so casually observed. The man’s eyes especially carry an almost melancholy weight. I’m really drawn to the raw simplicity of the material—the pencil on paper leaves the gesture so nakedly visible. Curator: Indeed. Smoking held potent social and psychological meanings. The pipe, especially, speaks to a contemplative state, a symbolic turning inward. In a rapidly changing society, this image evokes a figure seeking refuge in familiar comforts. Editor: I wonder about the availability of tobacco during Koelman’s time, who had access to it, and what that signifies about the social stratum represented here? Even the very act of drawing, committing a likeness to paper – paper itself a valuable material. Who commissioned such a piece, and why? Curator: Good points. This study transcends mere likeness, it's infused with symbolic undertones relating to both pleasure and the ephemerality of life. Smoke itself is a traditional symbol of transition and disappearance. Notice how lightly sketched some parts of the image are: barely-there lines around his hat, a fade effect mirroring the smoke rising and vanishing. Editor: And that rapid quality of the pencil work—it speaks volumes about Koelman’s own practice, maybe sketched while waiting for something or someone? There is a wonderful intersection here of medium and context and the social practice of smoking, a truly quotidian activity now elevated into art. Curator: This image feels profoundly honest about human vulnerability and how we grapple with everyday rituals to make sense of life's impermanence. Editor: I leave thinking differently about sketches now, recognizing their status beyond just preparatory work, but also seeing how material culture carries silent echoes.