Man neemt zijn hoed af voor een vrouw 1870 - 1937

This small monochrome print, created by an anonymous artist, captures an exchange between two figures on what looks like a winter’s day. The anonymous artist has used ink, or something like it, to create a scene of quiet observation. I can only imagine what it must have been like to witness this moment and then work up the memory of it as a drawing. In that moment of encounter so much is at play! I wonder how it felt, etching these lines and letting the narrative unfold. How has the artist captured a sort of emotional complexity using nothing more than line and form? And the woman’s costume with all its ornamentation! These lines, so carefully laid down, become a kind of map of someone’s inner life. For me, this work feels like a conversation, the artist speaking to the characters in the drawing and those of us looking at it now. The act of painting and drawing is an ongoing exchange across time, inspiring creativity and new ways of seeing.