Portret van (vermoedelijk) Hans Martin

Here, an unknown artist sketched a portrait, probably in pencil, sometime in the past. The drawing is made with such humble means, but you get the feeling the artist wasn't trying to show off, they just wanted to try and capture something important to them. I love how the artist has used the most basic of marks to create a sense of form. It's like they are feeling their way around the face with their pencil, exploring the contours of the hat. Look at the way they've massed up the tone in the shadow of the hat; it’s such a simple and direct approach. And yet, they have created a real sense of depth. There’s something quite vulnerable and exposed in this drawing. Thinking about other artists, I can't help but think of Giacometti's drawings; both artists are committed to the act of seeing as an ongoing, open-ended process. Neither is trying to offer a definitive, resolved image. Instead, they are making a record of a visual search. And in the end, it’s the act of searching that matters most.