Mannenkop met snor en baard in profiel naar rechts Possibly 1943

This head study, made by Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, probably with pen and ink, is a beautiful example of contour line drawing. It’s almost as if the artist's mind is a landscape, full of hills and valleys. I imagine de Mesquita was totally focused, wrestling with the essence of his subject. I wonder if he paused, maybe with a cup of tea, contemplating the next line. The beard bristles with a zig-zag energy, while the head is almost topographical in its rendering, full of curves and swirls. It reminds me of the way Guston would build up forms with a kind of restless, searching line. The eye is so small, peering out like it’s trying to keep a secret. You can see the influence of artists like Edvard Munch, who turned feelings into visible shapes. It’s like all these artists are having a conversation across time. And that's what painting is all about—an exchange, a game of telephone.