Portret van Jan Kalf 1922

Willy Sluiter made this portrait of Jan Kalf with what looks like ink on paper. It’s a study in seeing the world through the power of the line. Sluiter's lines are not just outlines; they build volume and suggest form. Look at the beard – it’s this energetic scribble, dense and dark, that gives way to lighter, sketchier strokes on the cheeks and forehead. The white of the paper breathes into these areas, creating a play of light and shadow that makes the portrait feel alive. Then there's the suit, rendered with just a few bold strokes, confident and economical. It reminds me of Matisse, with that same knack for capturing the essence of a subject with the fewest possible marks. There’s a sense of immediacy in Sluiter's work, a feeling that he’s improvising, thinking through the act of drawing. Art, after all, is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, not fixed or definitive meanings.