Studies van hoofden van een oude vrouw en een jongen c. 1800 - 1900

This drawing by G. Visser presents us with studies of heads, a young boy juxtaposed against older women, captured in sanguine. The women wear head coverings, a symbol of modesty and piety, often associated with particular religious orders or social standings of the time. These head coverings, though simple, evoke a profound sense of tradition. Consider the veils of Renaissance Madonnas, where the draping of fabric similarly signifies humility and reverence. The rendering of the folds in both, speak to a shared visual language across centuries. There's a quiet dignity here. A psychological weight carried in the lines etched around the eyes, the set of the mouth. It is as though the artist invites us to contemplate not just the passage of time, but also the accumulated wisdom and sorrows imprinted on these faces. The past is never truly behind us; it resurfaces, transformed but recognizable, in the images we create and behold.