Portret van Wouter Nijhoff c. 1909

This is Willem Witsen's "Portret van Wouter Nijhoff," an etching, and it's all about the dance of the needle on the plate, the bite of the acid. Look at how he builds up the darks around the boy’s head. It's almost like Witsen is sculpting with shadows, right? The magic here is in the layering, those tiny, deliberate lines. See the way he suggests the curve of the cheek, the soft texture of the hair? It's not about photographic accuracy; it's about feeling, about capturing a fleeting moment. I’m drawn to the area just above the boy's collar; the way the lines almost dissolve into a soft blur. It gives a sense of atmosphere. It reminds me a little of Whistler, that same interest in capturing mood and atmosphere through a limited palette. But Witsen has his own voice, a quiet intensity that I find really compelling. Art isn’t about answers. It's more about asking questions and embracing the beautiful mess of it all.