Zelfportret, tekenend 1889

Curator: We're looking at "Zelfportret, tekenend," a self-portrait drawing by Bernard Willem Wierink from 1889. It's currently housed here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is its intensity. The sitter’s gaze feels almost accusatory, wouldn't you say? It has this… cartoon-like feel to it, but with undertones that are rather severe. Curator: The artist has this captivating way of blending modern and more traditional styles, it’s academic, yet the style has a sort of exaggeration we see in caricature. The material is just humble pencil on paper, yet the effect is striking. There's this realness… a vulnerable realness. Editor: Right, it's as if he's trying to capture not just a likeness, but perhaps a state of mind, of self-assessment maybe. The sketch itself looks as though it’s moving, as though about to fall right off the page! Curator: I agree. The portrait offers this direct link to the artist's psyche. Consider the artistic context during this period; self-portraits provided a medium for expressing identity within shifting social norms. And pencil – how incredibly accessible. A means of representation quite literally available to most everyone. Editor: True! And the institutional framework is worth observing. Pieces such as this were likely to be displayed in salons, creating and fueling the perception of what art truly "ought" to represent. Which, incidentally, Wierink seems to push the boundary a bit here in that regard. Curator: Yes, its interesting how even a simple pencil sketch allows for so much conversation about representation. It all loops back to a central query about public role of art: whom should we include within our canon and to what avail? Editor: Food for thought, indeed! What seemed, at first glance, just an unassuming sketch turns into a fascinating insight into self-regard, institutional structure, and questions of visibility. Curator: It just goes to prove how much art really has the ability to mirror not only artists and society but each one of us who pauses to view and thoughtfully consider art pieces like this.