Portretstudie van hond Jimmy 1908 - 1910

Here is the audio guide script: Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande made this portrait of Jimmy the dog in Paris, October 1908, using black chalk on paper. Look closely at the way he captures Jimmy's fur. It's like a series of scribbles, each mark building up the texture and the volume of the dog's head, but also the feeling that this is a fleeting, spontaneous moment. The beauty of this drawing lies in its simplicity; the chalk is applied with varying pressure to create depth and shadow, with the brown paper peeking through. It's such a simple sketch, but that single line used to describe the dog's mouth, that little downturn, gives you all the feels! There is a vulnerability, a sense of character in that tiny detail. Jimmy reminds me of the work of Philip Guston, a later artist. Both capture the essence of their subjects with a raw and honest approach, a testament to how much can be said with so little.