Portret van H.W. Mouton als baby 1877 - 1950

Barbara Elisabeth van Houten captured H.W. Mouton as a baby with etching, using delicate lines and soft contrasts to convey the tender innocence of infancy. I love the intimate scale; it’s like holding a memory in your hands. The artist must have felt a profound connection to her subject. I imagine her carefully maneuvering the etching needle, trying to capture the essence of this tiny person, their fleeting gestures and the way the light catches their soft, downy hair. There's a beautiful sense of vulnerability here, like a secret shared between artist and viewer. The cross-hatching and the way the lines curve create a sense of volume, almost like you could reach out and touch the baby's chubby cheeks. Van Houten's understanding of light and shadow transforms a simple portrait into something deeply moving. It reminds me of how we all, as artists, are constantly striving to capture the uncapturable, to make visible the invisible threads that connect us.