Portræt af kunstnerens datter, Dorte Lundstrøm, trekvartprofil mod højre 1940 - 1944

Vilhelm Lundstrom made this portrait of his daughter, Dorte, in pencil on paper. It's so interesting to see an artist work with such limited means and still achieve a likeness, an evocation of character. Artmaking is often about what you choose to leave out, rather than what you put in, and in this case, the process is really laid bare. You can see the texture of the paper, the delicate lines of the pencil. The image is built up from simple curves and straight lines, with areas of shading that suggest the contours of the face. The lines almost feel tentative, and yet the overall effect is confident and assured. I am drawn to the pearl necklace, which is simply rendered as a series of circles, and how these simple forms manage to evoke an idea of wealth and beauty. Lundstrom’s portraits remind me of Picasso, but with a Scandinavian sensibility. Both artists were interested in reducing the human form to its essential elements. Like Picasso, Lundstrom shows us that art isn’t about representation, it's about interpretation. It’s about seeing the world in new and different ways.