Twee mannenbustes en een vrouwenhoofd c. 1884 - 1887

Here we see Willem Witsen's sketch, "Two Male Busts and a Female Head," created with a soft, dark pencil on paper. The composition is divided into three distinct sections, each capturing a portrait. Notice the artist's use of shadow and light. The faces are obscured, almost dissolving into the background. This play with visibility suggests a deeper engagement with themes of identity and representation. Witsen destabilizes traditional portraiture by obscuring the identities of his subjects, challenging fixed meanings and encouraging us to question how we perceive and categorize individuals based on visual cues. The sketches appear unfinished, raw, and immediate; they invite us to consider the nature of representation itself. The subtle yet powerful arrangement of these sketches on the page forms a cultural and philosophical discourse, turning it into a meditation on perception, memory, and the transient nature of human existence.