Man met een pet zittend op een stoel 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of a man with a cap sitting in a chair with graphite on paper. It's all about the process, right? Seeing how the artist builds up the image, line by line. The textures created by the graphite are so interesting. In some areas, the lines are light and feathery, almost disappearing into the paper, while in others, they're dark and dense, creating a sense of weight. Look at the way Vreedenburgh uses hatching and cross-hatching to define the shadows on the man's body and clothing. It gives the drawing a real sense of depth and volume. The chair looks a little shaky, doesn't it? The marks are loose and scribbled, a world away from the very tight drawing of, say, Ingres. I'm reminded a little of Käthe Kollwitz and her drawings of working-class people. Like Kollwitz, Vreedenburgh captures a sense of human dignity and resilience in his subject. Art is a conversation, always building on what came before, and opening up new possibilities for what comes next.