Fantasie: mannenkop met scheve muts, half over het rechteroog - Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita

A striking 1918 lithograph by Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, featuring an expressive, stylized portrait with surrealist elements.

This lithograph by Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, dated 1918, demonstrates the artist's command of line and his inclination toward the grotesque. The central figure, a man wearing a cap tilted over his right eye, occupies the majority of the frame. His features are exaggerated, with a prominent nose and a subtle, enigmatic smile that borders on the surreal. The composition is framed by secondary, smaller profiles that appear to emerge from the background, adding a sense of psychological depth to the work.

De Mesquita was a Dutch graphic artist known for his technical precision and his ability to infuse simple forms with character. His work often explored the boundaries between reality and imagination, frequently employing distortion to convey mood rather than literal representation. The lines here are clean and deliberate, reflecting his background in printmaking and his meticulous approach to the medium. The use of shading is minimal, relying instead on the weight and direction of the ink to define the contours of the face and the surrounding space.

As a teacher at the School of Applied Arts in Haarlem, de Mesquita influenced a generation of artists, including M.C. Escher. His own output, however, remained distinct in its focus on human and animal subjects rendered with a sharp, often humorous, sensibility. This print captures the essence of his style, where the economy of mark-making allows the viewer to focus on the expressive quality of the subject. The inclusion of smaller, peripheral faces suggests a narrative or a dreamlike state, inviting the viewer to consider the relationships between the figures. It is a fine example of early twentieth-century Dutch graphic art, demonstrating a balance between technical discipline and creative freedom.