Vrouw steunend op twee vuisten 1944

Hendrik Werkman painted this work, Vrouw steunend op twee vuisten, using muted colours and bold strokes. I can imagine him working intuitively, pushing the paint around the surface, making the woman appear and disappear. What was he thinking as he built up this portrait, smudging the colours of the face, so close to dissolving? The hands are propping up the chin, such a simple gesture, full of introspection. The paint is thin, almost translucent, allowing the colours to blend and bleed into one another. Look how the colour of the hands, an earthy orange-brown, contrasts with the cool blues and greens of the clothing and background. It’s like a visual poem, a quiet meditation on color, form, and the human condition. Werkman is in conversation with other painters, but he’s speaking his own distinct language. Painting embraces ambiguity, inviting us to bring our own experiences and interpretations to the surface.