Staande man met een bolhoed bij een muur 1890 - 1922

Johanna van de Kamer made this sketch of a man in a bowler hat, leaning against a wall, probably in her studio. It's all about line, right? I find myself thinking about the quality of line here, how it's neither too precious, nor too careless, but just kind of searching. Take for instance the way she renders the figure's face: it's not about getting it 'right' in a photographic sense, but more about finding a kind of gestural equivalent to the way a face feels, you know? There’s this raw immediacy that makes you feel like you’re in the room with her, watching her work it out. It reminds me a little of Picasso’s early sketches, that same dedication to process and to seeing. In the end, it’s this openness to possibility that I find so compelling, that’s what makes art, art!