Vrouw in een stoel 1891 - 1938

Hendrik Jan Wesseling made this small etching of a seated woman, sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. It’s all about the line, isn't it? A few flicks and scratches capture the cut of her hair, the set of her jaw. The plate tone in the background gives a sense of atmosphere, a kind of quiet melancholy. Look at the way Wesseling defines her form through the confident hatching and cross-hatching. See how the marks build up to create areas of shadow and depth, particularly around the face and hands. It feels intimate, like we’re catching a glimpse of a private moment. This reminds me a little of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who used etching to convey powerful emotions. But where Kollwitz is all about raw emotion, Wesseling has a more delicate touch. There’s a sense of stillness here, a quiet contemplation. Art, like life, is about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.