Vrouw op het strand c. 1901 - 1927

Johan Antonie de Jonge made this drawing, Vrouw op het strand, with graphite on paper. It’s not so much about the what, a woman on a beach, as the how. You can see the artist feeling his way into the subject. I love how the graphite feels both tentative and confident. See the density of the marks that make up the figure of the woman, they almost vibrate on the page. The artist uses short, quick strokes to capture the light on the dunes. I can imagine him outside, squinting and shivering, trying to get it down quickly as the light changes. I wonder if it was windy? You can almost feel a breeze. The drawing reminds me that seeing is as much about looking as it is about feeling and experiencing. Like all drawings it is intimate and immediate. De Jonge draws not so much what he sees but how he feels, how he thinks.