Wandering Art
“Can you draw this for me?” I ask.
He unfolds the printout. His eyes almost leap out of their sockets when he sees the painting. “Wow! Did you make this? I could never make this, man! This is too hard for me! Much too hard!”
“It’s by Johannes Vermeer. But I don’t want an exact copy. I’d just like to see your version.”
“Sorry, man, this is too hard. This Vandermeer guy is good. Very good. Look …” he says, pointing at the painting, “she’s reading a letter.” Then he chuckles. “Or maybe this Vandermeer guy gave her a hard drawing and asked if she could copy it for him!”
“Good thinking!” I laugh. “But I just read somewhere that it’s probably a letter from a soldier, maybe her lover or her brother, who’s fighting far away. See the map in the background? That’s probably where he is.”
“Cool! I love pictures that tell a story. Not like comics, you know? Like this.”
“That painting has travelled all over the world – Shanghai, São Paulo, Los Angeles. And now it’s back in Amsterdam. Just in time for the opening of the Rijksmuseum.”
“So people all over the world have seen it? That’s so cool. I wish people all over the world could see my stuff.”
“Maybe they will if you draw me your version of the Lady with the Letter.”
“It’s just too hard, man. This Vandermeer guy is really good,” he says, folding up the printout and pushing it deep into one of the pockets of his greatcoat. “So, what can I sell you tonight? A copy or an original?”
“I’ll have a copy, please,” I say, handing over five euros. “You shouldn’t sell the originals.”
“They just get wet or dirty or stolen if I keep them. Are you sure you don’t want an original?” (The originals cost twenty euros.)
“I bought an original on Monday, remember?”
“Tigger! And you bought a copy of Eeyore!”
“Exactly. But I’ll definitely buy the original of your Lady with the Letter.”
“Damn, it’s cold! Is this spring? This isn’t spring!” He pulls his cap down further over his ears. “Maybe you could score me another two, man, so I can buy some chips?”
I drop a two-euro coin in his palm. “Bring me the lady, okay?”
“Thanks, man, I’ll try.” Then he chuckles: “Maybe when she goes travelling, she’ll take me with her. Someplace warm!”
“Maybe you can take me along, too.”
“I will!” he says, turning to leave.
“You haven’t given me the drawing I just bought,” I laugh.
“Oh damn, I’m sorry, man, so sorry!” he says, rummaging in his carrier-bag portfolio.
“Wow!” I say. “This is great! Does it have a title?”
(Quite coincidentally, the homeless artist’s name is also Richard. To celebrate the fact that people all over the world have now seen his drawing, I’d like to run a little competition. Please post your title for the above drawing as a comment below or as a tweet to @KLM or @RicharddeNooy. The person who posts the most original title will receive one of Richard’s original drawings. Then I can tell him his art has also travelled the world, just like Vermeer’s Lady with the Letter, who will be on display when the Rijksmuseum opens on 13 April.)
