Portret van Cornelis Hofstede de Groot op de verso-zijde van een uitnodiging voor de vergadering der Rijks-Commissie voor het Museumwezen 1920

Here we see Jan Veth's pencil drawing, "Portret van Cornelis Hofstede de Groot," sketched on the back of a formal invitation. The drawing's immediate visual impact lies in its incompleteness. Veth captures only the upper portion of Hofstede de Groot’s head, using faint, tentative lines that contrast with the structured formality of the invitation. The sketch destabilizes the established conventions of portraiture. Rather than presenting a complete, idealized image, Veth offers a fleeting glimpse, an ephemeral impression of his subject. The lines are not definitive but suggestive, creating a sense of movement and impermanence. It is interesting to consider how Veth utilizes the physical constraints of the invitation's verso. The limited space and the pre-existing lines of the text force a dialogue between the sketched portrait and the underlying structure of the document. This interplay challenges traditional notions of artistic space, suggesting that art can emerge from and interact with the most unexpected of surfaces.