Studie naar een kop van een Siva in het Museum voor Volkenkunde te Leiden 1868 - 1928

Jan Toorop made this study of a head of Siva in the Leiden Museum voor Volkenkunde using graphite on paper. The choice of graphite, a humble material, contrasts with the profound subject matter. Graphite is a medium associated with sketching, a means of quickly capturing form and light, but its industrial production has an interesting history, tied to mass production in pencil factories. Here, Toorop harnesses its immediacy to explore the textures and contours of the original sculpture. The drawing suggests the original sculpture's material qualities, perhaps stone or bronze. Toorop's process reflects a translation of cultural artifacts through the lens of European artistic practice. It prompts consideration of how museums present non-Western art, and the labour involved in both the original creation of the Siva head and Toorop’s study. This drawing invites us to think about the layers of cultural exchange, the materials and the hands that shaped these objects, and the value we assign to different forms of artistic expression.