Portret van een staande man met hoed, jas en wandelstok 1900 - 1905

Here we have a portrait of a standing man with a hat, coat and walking stick by Jacobus de Vries Gzn. The sepia tones give the image a dreamy, otherworldly feel, the figure emerging from and receding into time itself. It reminds me of certain black and white paintings, especially ones that use umber – that sense of things being both present and absent, built up and broken down. Look at the way the light catches the brim of his bowler hat, that small highlight almost a signature. The figure’s pose is formal, yet the background is soft, almost dissolving. The cane seems like an extension of the self, echoing the line of the coat, while also adding an extra layer of stability, a visual and physical grounding in the world. There's something about this that puts me in mind of the work of Marlene Dumas, who also paints from photographs, and also deals in a kind of emotional directness. Art is about looking, but it is also about feeling, and making connections across time and space.