Portret van Christiaan Pieter van Eeghen 1877 - 1942

Henriëtte de Vries created this portrait of Christiaan Pieter van Eeghen with etching. Imagine the artist, bent over the plate, using needles to create a dense mesh of lines, a kind of hatching to build up the tones. I wonder what it was like for Henriëtte to make this work? What was going through her head? Did she enjoy the slow, methodical work, or did it drive her nuts? I like to think of the artist having a conversation with the person as she etched. Maybe she was trying to get a sense of who he really was. The scratching and the mark making capture the light and shadow that give form to his face. See how the etching captures the texture of his coat. I’m drawn to the dark lines around his eyes; they communicate so much about his character. It makes me think of other portrait etchings from the period, all these artists using line to try and capture a likeness and a feeling. I'm always reminded that artists are constantly in dialogue, building on what came before, finding their own voices through the echoes of others.