Portret van een onbekende man 1944

This is a drawing of an unknown man, made with pencil on paper by Henk Henriët. The smudgy pencil marks create soft tonal variations which, in turn, model the man's face. Look at how Henriët uses the side of the pencil lead to gently shadow areas of the face and neck. It gives a real sense of three-dimensionality. You can see how the texture of the paper helps to break up the marks too, it's not a totally smooth surface, so the lines become a bit broken and fuzzy. But these marks aren't just about description. They also add to the emotional mood of the piece. The man’s gaze is a little unsettling. It reminds me of the portraits of Lucian Freud, who has a similar interest in an objective, honest portrayal of his subjects. Of course, this piece is much less grotesque. It's a more understated and subtle kind of truth-telling. The loose lines and erasures show the working process, and it's this quality that gives the piece its intimacy. It's like we're seeing the artist thinking on paper.