Vrouw met sigaret c. 1908 - 1923

Ferdinand Oldewelt made this drawing, Vrouw met sigaret, with graphite on paper. You know, drawing can be so simple and so hard. Just looking at the wobbly, searching lines, I can feel Oldewelt trying to understand the tilt of the head and the set of the shoulders. You can see the ghost of other lines underneath, where he was working it out. What was it like to be him, drawing this woman? It's like a little dance between artist and subject. She's there, maybe smoking away, lost in thought. He's trying to capture that mood, that moment of contemplation. It’s a sketch—the process of observation and recording, a moment in time. Painters are always looking at each other's work, riffing off ideas, and keeping the conversation going. I wonder who inspired Oldewelt? Who will be inspired by him?