Figuurstudies, waaronder een zittende vrouw 1849 - 1917

Curator: What a flurry of activity. Editor: Indeed. We're looking at a drawing titled "Figuurstudies, waaronder een zittende vrouw"—or "Figure Studies, including a Seated Woman"—created by Matthijs Maris sometime between 1849 and 1917. It’s rendered in pencil on paper, and proudly held here at the Rijksmuseum. What springs to mind for you? Curator: There's a certain ghostliness about it, wouldn’t you say? As if he's trying to capture figures fading in and out of sight. Like trying to grasp smoke. Editor: The spectral quality absolutely stands out. Note how Maris uses these fleeting lines and minimal shading to create an unfinished feel, really emphasizing process over the polished product. It echoes Impressionism's fascination with the momentary, but rendered with stark economy. Curator: I agree, and there is an arresting tension between the immediacy and the fact that these are figures, human beings presumably posed for observation... The sketchiness brings an ethereal feeling. But maybe Maris was capturing a feeling or impression about these people, rather than a physical representation? Editor: A compelling point! It is about feeling… or, dare I say, *representing* pure potential? Each stroke hints at form without fully committing. Notice how, especially around the seated figure mentioned in the title, he revises and overlays lines repeatedly—almost sculpting with pencil strokes to imply dimension? Curator: Like he's searching, seeking that essential truth. It's really intriguing that this comes from Maris, a painter typically associated with more finished, dreamlike scenes. This peek into his process makes the entire piece more accessible to me somehow...It's humanizing, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Definitely. This more direct, seemingly unguarded approach is fascinating precisely because of the finished work's usual mood. Maris shows how to perceive a subject without rigid rules but by focusing instead on fluid shapes. Thanks for those insights, I must rethink how I approach Maris from now on. Curator: Thank you. It's moments like these that really let me get a deeper insight on an artwork.