Hoofd van Madonna 1683 - 1733

Curator: Well, if it isn’t the Head of Madonna, a lovely piece attributed to Bernard Picart, created sometime between 1683 and 1733. You can find it here at the Rijksmuseum, rendered delicately in pencil. Editor: Ah, she looks so serene, almost…lost in thought. There's a tender sadness in the downward gaze, don't you think? It reminds me of a melody, melancholic but beautiful. Curator: Absolutely. Picart's skill really shines through in the precision of the lines, creating volume and softness all at once. Note how he uses a grid to transfer the composition onto the page—an exercise in academic art. Editor: It’s that underlying structure that gives the image such stillness, perhaps? A foundation to build emotion upon. You see it especially clearly because the grid's been left in the drawing. It’s a study, after all. You can almost see the process; like catching a glimpse into the artist's mind. Curator: Precisely. And it highlights how the formal qualities—the shading, the balanced composition, the realism—all work to convey that serenity you mentioned. She really embodies idealized beauty of classicism, doesn't she? Even unfinished. Editor: Right. There's this feeling that there's an attempt to represent her inner life, almost like she is listening to a far away call and responds with this quiet mood that wraps around the scene and almost overflows into me. I respond by filling my heart. That's why I find the piece interesting. I fill myself while observing. Curator: That's insightful. I would agree that the open quality of the pencil lines allow the viewer into the image, so to speak. There is no opaque oil paint keeping us out! Editor: So here we are, with this face. An eternal moment that keeps on giving to people who decide to pause and engage. Curator: Indeed. This "Head of Madonna" reminds us that sometimes, a sketch can hold more emotion than a finished masterpiece.