Portret van een Soendanese man c. 1921

Curator: Looking at this image, I feel an immediate sense of the subject's dignity, wouldn’t you agree? There's a weight in his gaze. Editor: Absolutely. Here we have "Portrait of a Sudanese Man" by Willem Witsen, created around 1921. It's a pencil and graphite drawing currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Witsen was known for his etchings and paintings, particularly of Amsterdam cityscapes, but this drawing offers a striking example of his portraiture. Curator: The turban, meticulously rendered, acts as more than just a head covering. It's a symbol, a cultural marker loaded with history, status and possibly even a hint of rebellion against imposed colonial powers at that moment. It presents identity. Editor: Precisely. The 1920s were a complex period in Dutch colonial history. While the Netherlands maintained control over the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, there were rising nationalist movements. Drawings such as this, made by a privileged Dutch artist, inevitably played into the power dynamics. It invites us to reflect on how cultural representation intersected with socio-political realities. Was this a respectful study or another instance of “orientalizing” the Other? Curator: It makes me think about Witsen's potential encounters. Was it simply observation or something more personal, like a portrait of someone known? Also, consider the light. He uses the darkness to communicate dignity in that moment. It carries weight as he stares in. Editor: Yes, the weight of history, perhaps. We must not forget the fraught history of representation when artists from dominant cultures depict those from marginalized communities. Curator: The cultural symbolism invites continuous inspection. I always seek to examine those stories. Editor: And I focus on those whose stories were systematically silenced; understanding images is also about understanding silence and exclusion. A good drawing like this pushes us in those necessary directions.