This hatted and bespectacled man reminds me rather of James Joyce--a smart, serious, and quite sensitive young man. And I find this drawing, which appears to have been rendered on the back of a white paper receipt or wrapper, so romantic, conjuring visions of early 20th century European cafe life-- I can just see Dutch artist Willem Klijn sitting quietly in the corner by a window, dashing off this sketch while lively intellectual banter rises all around him!
The drawing is signed (on the shoulder of the figure) W. Klijn, Brussel, 1910. Klijn (1892-1961) was a Dutch drawer, painter, printmaker, and graphic artist, who also created wood carvings. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam, later taught, and worked in Amsterdam, Brussels, Den Helder, Wijk aan Zee and Zandvoort. The subjects of his artworks included landscapes, still lives, urban scenes, images of animals, and religious and mythological paintings. . He was a member of the Onafhankelijk, the Sint Lucas association, the Rembrandt group and the Brug.
According to Mutualart.com, Klijn's work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from $677 to $1,384.
The drawing measures 6" x 4 1/8" inches. It is mounted (with tape on the back, visible in the corners) on black paper, which in turn has been mounted on a 8"x 10" piece mat board that at some point was annotated by a seller; I would guess a long time ago. There is an additional hinged mat (which I have folded back to photograph the drawing) that lies over the front of the drawing (easily removed) with plastic to protect it (shown in last photo). The drawing itself is in very good condition.
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