De schilder Hendrik Willem Mesdag in zijn atelier, Laan van Meerdervoort 9, Den Haag Possibly 1903 - 1916

This photograph of the painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag in his studio was taken by Sigmund Löw. It's a great example of how artmaking can be thought of as a process. Look at the surface of the paintings, rendered in shades of grey. The artist's hand is very present; you can almost feel the push and pull of the brush as it creates these waves. The paintings are raw, visceral. The photograph is interesting because it captures Mesdag surrounded by his work. It's like a snapshot of the artist’s mind, a place where ideas are constantly being worked through and refined. The eye jumps between the three paintings, each with different levels of completion, each offering a different perspective on the subject. The brushwork is gestural and the paint is applied quickly, capturing the essence of the moment. Like, I feel an affinity with someone who’s willing to leave something unfinished, you know? It reminds me a little of some of Courbet's studio paintings. It’s all about the energy and the excitement of the creative process, and how that process can take on a life of its own. It's a kind of conversation between artists, across time and space.