Zelfportret met geheven handen zwevend in een landschap 1941

Henk Henriët made this self-portrait with graphite on paper. It shows him floating, hands up in the air, almost like he’s surfing. It's a really interesting combination of careful observation and imaginative flair. Looking closely at the texture of the drawing, you can see how Henriët uses different densities of line to create a sense of depth and volume. The shading on his body is subtle, almost velvety, while the landscape is rendered with a more scratchy, nervous energy. The way he’s captured the fall of light on his face is really skillful. There’s a softness there, but also a sense of intensity, and the hands are positioned so you can see the detailed line work on the fingers. It’s like he’s reaching out, inviting us into his strange, levitating world. Henriët’s ability to combine these different elements – realism, imagination, and sheer mark-making prowess – reminds me a bit of Francisco Goya. Both artists have this knack for turning personal visions into something universal, something that speaks to the human condition in all its messy, contradictory glory.