Slapende reus met zijn hoofd op zijn rechterhand leunend c. 1936 - 1940

This drawing of a sleeping giant by Henk Henriët at the Rijksmuseum is made with graphite on paper, a humble medium for something so epic! I'm picturing Henriët sketching away, trying to capture the weight and stillness of this slumbering figure. You know, sometimes, the most delicate lines can convey the most profound sense of mass and volume. Look at the way he’s used hatching to suggest the folds of the giant’s clothes and the soft contours of his face. There’s a real tenderness in the way he’s rendered this figure, even though he’s supposed to be a giant. It makes you wonder what kind of dreams occupy the mind of such a colossal being. Is he dreaming of epic battles or gentle landscapes? And how does Henriët’s drawing, with its quiet intensity, connect us to the vastness of human imagination? Artists, through their work, invite us into their inner worlds and, in doing so, expand our own.