Portret van Henriëtte Roland Holst-van der Schalk, zittend bij een voorstelling met twee meisjes 1878 - 1938

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this lovely, sensitive drawing of Henriëtte Roland Holst-van der Schalk with graphite on paper. You can almost hear the scratching of the pencil on the page as he searches for the right line, that perfect contour. I can imagine him sitting close to her, really studying her face, her hands, trying to capture not just her likeness, but something of her spirit. Maybe he was thinking about the weight of the world, the burden of being a woman, an artist, a thinker. The woman looks away from the artist as if contemplating life's big questions. The simple lines capture a vulnerability but also a sense of quiet strength. Holst’s cross-hatching gives form to her clothing, and there's a beautiful tension between the detailed rendering of her figure and the more loosely suggested background. It reminds me of other drawings I have seen, there is a deep connection that is being made between the artist and his muse. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, a dialogue across time and space. Holst saw the drawings of other masters, and now we see his, adding our own voices to the chorus.