Portret van Paul Verlaine 1893

Curator: Zilcken’s 1893 pencil drawing, "Portret van Paul Verlaine," at the Rijksmuseum, captures the poet in profile. The medium is simple, direct. What strikes you first? Editor: It’s melancholy, isn't it? A stark sort of portraiture – all those grey values. The lack of color adds weight. He looks world-weary, almost a shadow of himself. Curator: Absolutely. Verlaine led quite a tumultuous existence; and Zilcken's rendering has a raw, almost journalistic quality. Note the hatching work— Zilcken masterfully models Verlaine's features with what seems like hurried pencil strokes, conveying the poet's mood but without sentimentality. Editor: Precisely. There's something brutally honest in the economy of line. Look at how Zilcken captures the set of Verlaine's jaw and the intensity in his eye, that furrowed brow; these shapes, tones and subtle lines converge to express the mental state, this heavy, weighty feel. Curator: And Zilcken uses realism effectively here to convey, I think, the essence of Verlaine. Verlaine wasn't easy to love—nor ignore! Do you agree that he's sort of immortalized him—warts and all? Editor: Definitely. It avoids the usual pitfalls of romanticizing artistic genius. Here, it's just Verlaine stripped bare. In its modesty, though, that pencilwork creates a lasting intensity – it’s unforgettable! Curator: Exactly! In an age infatuated with colour, perhaps it's a master stroke. Editor: This muted palette throws up some big ideas!