Figuurstudie van een man c. 1901 - 1927

Johan Antonie de Jonge made this figure study of a man, but we don't know when or with what. It's like watching an artist work out the form as they go, feeling their way through with these tentative, almost ghostly marks. You can almost see the artist's hand moving across the paper, testing and adjusting, line by line. It's a beautiful example of artmaking as a process, not just a finished product. Look closely and you can see the density of the charcoal around the man's head in contrast to the fading lines around him that trail off into space. The texture is so soft, almost like smoke. It gives the piece a dreamlike quality, as if the figure is emerging from or dissolving into the background. This reminds me a bit of Rodin’s sketches. Ultimately, this work invites us to embrace the beauty of the unfinished.