Zittende naakte vrouw 1939

Chris van der Hoef made this drawing of a nude woman, we don’t know when, with graphite on paper. What gets me right away is the soft tonality, how the artist coaxes out the form through subtle gradations of tone. It’s gentle, almost like a whisper. Looking at the surface, I see how van der Hoef builds up the figure through a layering of marks, smudging and blending. It's like the artist is feeling out the form, letting it emerge slowly. The paper peeks through, creating a sense of light and air. Notice the shading along the figure’s back, and how it gives a feeling of weight, of the body pressing against a surface. It’s quiet, it’s unassuming, but it holds its own. This reminds me a little of the tonalist landscapes of someone like Whistler. Both artists are masters of subtlety, inviting us to slow down and really see. Art is a conversation across time, isn't it? A game of telephone.