Portret van Hendrik Willem Mesdag 1911

This is Chris Lebeau’s pencil drawing of Hendrik Willem Mesdag. You can see the artist’s hand in the delicate hatching that creates the tones of the face, beard, and hair. I imagine Lebeau, pencil in hand, working to capture Mesdag’s likeness. Maybe he's thinking about the weight of the lines and the subtle gradations of tone that will bring the portrait to life. The way the lines build up, layer upon layer, gives the image a real presence. I love how the texture of the paper shows through, adding another layer of depth and interest. The beard seems to have a life of its own, swirling with an almost unruly energy. It's those little moments, those unexpected details, that make a portrait sing. Artists are always in conversation with one another, building on what came before, pushing in new directions, and playing with the possibilities of the medium.