Jonge vogel 1919 - 1929

Frederika Henriëtte Broeksmit made this drawing of a young bird, probably in the 1930s, using charcoal and chalk. Look at those marks, that moody palette! The bird emerges from the soft grey background through a blur of marks, smudges and lines. I imagine Broeksmit feeling for the form, making and remaking the same line, trying to capture the essence of the birdness of this creature. What might she have been thinking when she made it? Sympathizing with an artist is a feeling I know well. Drawing with charcoal and chalk you can feel it crumble in your hands, feel the texture under the paper, and the different ways of holding the pencil, it’s an intimate relationship between artist and subject, charcoal and paper. Look at the bird’s feet, three swift gestures and you’ve got them. It reminds me of Twombly, or even Manet with his rapid brushstrokes, everyone riffing off everyone else, in this continuous exchange of ideas, inspiring each other across time. Ultimately, painting and drawing are forms of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, which is exactly what makes them so powerful.