Kind van Wilhelmus Johannes Steenhoff aan de borst van zijn moeder 1873 - 1932

Wilhelmus Johannes Steenhoff captured this intimate moment of a mother nursing her child with pencil on paper. It’s a sketch, really, full of quick, searching lines, all about process. There’s a beautiful softness to the scene, achieved through the layering of graphite. The light seems to emanate from the child, highlighting the curve of the mother's breast. Steenhoff’s marks are so raw, so immediate, you can almost feel the pressure of the pencil on the page. Look at the hatching on the right, almost like a dark curtain framing the central figures, adding depth and drama. It reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who fearlessly explored themes of motherhood and the female form with such tenderness and honesty. Both artists remind us that art is always an ongoing conversation, a way of seeing and feeling that evolves across time.