Smidse met vuur (Jan) Possibly 1906 - 1909

Willem Witsen made this drawing, Smidse met vuur (Jan), using what looks like charcoal or graphite. I love how the process is so visible. You can really see the artist thinking through the image, line by line. There’s something so immediate about sketches like this. The marks feel raw and urgent, not overworked at all. Look at the dark, dense strokes that form the background – they create this sense of depth and shadow, almost like a stage set. And then the lighter, more delicate lines that define the figure…it’s like Witsen is feeling his way through the form, capturing a sense of movement and energy. That one thick, dark line that anchors the figure to the ground is everything. It really gives the whole image weight. Witsen reminds me a little of Degas, in that he captures these fleeting moments with such an economy of means. This piece embraces the unfinished, suggesting possibilities rather than dictating certainties.