Untitled

About this work

You see a small, smudged pencil sketch of a woman’s face—quick lines, like someone caught a fleeting thought. The paper is yellowed, and the edges are torn, but the marks feel alive. It’s tucked inside a big book of old drawings, sorted by neighborhood, not by artist. No one knows who made it or why it survived. That mystery makes it feel more real than a polished portrait. To see more rough, forgotten sketches like this, explore the Rijksmuseum’s collection.