Portret van Karel, op de rug gezien c. 1892

Curator: Julie de Graag's "Portret van Karel, op de rug gezien," created around 1892, offers an intimate glimpse into a private moment, rendered in pencil on paper. Editor: My first impression is one of quiet contemplation. The softness of the pencil lines creates a gentle, almost melancholic mood. You feel a strange vulnerability. Curator: That’s interesting, because I find the turning away intriguing from a symbolic perspective. The averted gaze, the turned back, it suggests hidden depths, perhaps a refusal to engage directly with the viewer or maybe it just means she quickly captured the likeness of someone turning. What do you make of her choice of medium? Editor: The pencil allows for a immediacy, a sense of direct connection to the artist's hand and eye. The rougher lines indicate a fast and perhaps preliminary state. And the way the pencil strokes build up the form hints at the labor involved in its production. It isn't simply a fleeting impression; there's deliberate construction here. And there is the rough depiction of some object with frills on the side too - could it be some design study too? Curator: Yes, or even notes of things she intended to execute as larger works in painting later - preliminary compositional sketches. Considering her historical context, she would have also used it to map a network of interpersonal meaning between her social surrounding using friends or acquaintances as characters. There is an element of mystery – a story we can only guess at. Editor: Absolutely. And while the sketch is seemingly simple, it really underscores the crucial function that sketches, drafts, studies play in her labor as an artist. We see its capacity to make something meaningful, despite its quick execution and everyday materials. It makes one question the value and worth that is placed on works that take significantly more labour or prestige of the finished piece. Curator: Seeing the world as Julie saw it is always eye-opening, this brief glimpse has an enduring power, an open and unresolved perspective, wouldn't you agree? Editor: I agree! There's beauty in this simplicity, a testament to her sharp abilities that speaks volumes despite it's incompleteness.