Man met baret en een boek 1798

R.M. Pruysenaar made this watercolor of a man with a beret and a book, but we don’t know exactly when. The artist employs washes of diluted pigment to create a range of tonal values. These shades are carefully built up, layer by layer, using a brush. The book itself suggests the labor of transcription: someone had to sit and copy out the text, letter by letter. The beret and ruffled collar, plus the act of reading itself, suggests a certain level of status, and perhaps freedom from manual labor. Notice how the white of the paper glows through the drawing, especially in the man’s face, making him seem illuminated from within, as if by intellectual energy. The point is that every artwork is made by a person, often with considerable skill and invested effort. By recognizing that, we can appreciate the image all the more.