Portret van Cornelis Johan de Lange before 1879

This is Piet Schipperus’s rendering of Cornelis Johan de Lange, captured in a monochromatic print. The portrait presents a study in contrasts, a structured dance between light and shadow. The artist employs a precise manipulation of line and tone to define form. We observe delicate cross-hatching that models de Lange’s face, juxtaposed against the smoother expanses of his coat. This strategic variation draws the eye, emphasizing the sitter’s gaze and the textured materiality of his attire. The composition adheres to a classical structure: the subject centered, balanced, and presented with an air of restrained dignity. The whiteness of the wig and ruffled shirt highlight the face. But it is through these subtle modulations that Schipperus challenges the very notion of fixed representation. Consider how the tonal gradations not only describe shape, but subtly destabilize a singular reading. This print becomes not just a depiction, but a site for questioning the boundaries between objective likeness and subjective interpretation.