Vrouw met een knot op het hoofd en gesloten ogen Possibly 1943

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita made this portrait, "Vrouw met een knot op het hoofd en gesloten ogen", with ink on paper. It's a delicate thing, right? The portrait is made up of lines that feel both assured and tentative, like the artist is feeling their way through the form. I imagine Mesquita hunched over his desk, the scratch of the pen the only sound. There's a sense of immediacy, like he’s trying to capture a fleeting moment of introspection. The closed eyes suggest a world of inner thoughts and dreams, secrets perhaps. The date there on the side, '29/12/43' – it’s like a little breadcrumb from the artist's life. A time capsule of creativity, a testament to the enduring power of art to offer solace, contemplation, and understanding in the face of uncertainty. I wonder what he was thinking about?