Hoofd van een meisje en een vrouw zittend in het gras c. 1928 - 1930

Curator: Otto Verhagen created this intriguing drawing around 1928-1930; its title translates to "Head of a Girl and a Woman Sitting in the Grass." Editor: It’s disarming. The girl's face feels monumental, like a study torn from a larger composition, while the woman below is so diminutive, so completely swallowed by the landscape that I can almost feel the sun on my face in the space between them. Curator: Fascinating. I am intrigued by this artist that rose to prominence amidst social and economic upheaval, but largely worked on representing mundane life, mostly without criticism for the socio-economic reality, maybe he worked in his atelier disconnected to what was happening in society. It invites considerations on the role of the artist. Editor: What strikes me first is the contrasting treatment. Look at the very different types of strokes that he is using. We have very dark lines and the woman which create shadows while other lines, lighter, and more clear for the girl´s face. And this is not because he had better access to this girl! It´s the structure that allows it to exist. Curator: That's a brilliant point. This also speaks to the status the figures would have, both being a member of this community. Does it reinforce social hierarchies, or challenge them? I find myself drawn to thinking on art's responsibilities during the interwar period, and what expectations are set about the artist´s own engagement. Editor: But observe that the formal elements create this status without an overt intention to make any statement on the socio-political sphere. I find myself absorbed by the tonal range Verhagen coaxes from the pencil; it’s unexpectedly sophisticated. Curator: Agreed. And it provokes so many thoughts: how was art consumed, and for whom? Who could even engage with or benefit from representations that focused only on a peaceful atmosphere? It raises questions of agency in that time. Editor: Perhaps, yet I am here only drawn to Verhagen´s rendering skills as is manifest with the figure on the grass and how its form merges and detaches to form this complete work that can provide this space for contemplation. It is just pure mastery on this combination that leads us into thinking what each character entails to the other one and to us as public. Curator: Ultimately, its enigmatic quality makes this drawing very poignant. Editor: Exactly. Its simplicity holds great nuance for any sort of audience and purpose of seeing it.