Staande man met een hoed en wandelstok 1834 - 1903

This is Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch's sketch of a standing man with hat and cane, now in the Rijksmuseum. Drawn with graphite, the artist’s hand is evident in the hasty, textural marks across the surface of the paper. Notice how Weissenbruch renders the figure with a dynamic interplay of light and shadow. The strokes create a sense of movement, suggesting that the man is pausing mid-stride, and the objects beside him – possibly a ship’s mast – also appear as if in motion. The sketch operates within a field of tension. Weissenbruch challenges traditional portraiture by capturing a fleeting moment. The semiotic interplay between the standing figure, the cane, and the masts evokes a sense of life’s transient nature. The composition lacks a fixed center, inviting the viewer's eye to dance across the paper, questioning notions of stability and permanence. This defiance of fixity is not merely aesthetic; it reflects a broader philosophical discourse questioning stable meanings. This challenges us to reconsider the relationship between art, representation, and the world it seeks to capture.