Zelfportret: B-1-1, 14 februari Possibly 1942

Cor van Teeseling drew this self-portrait with graphite on paper on February 14th, 1942. Look closely, and you can see how he’s built the face with layers of tiny, delicate marks. I imagine him, a young artist, scrutinizing his own features, trying to capture not just the likeness but something of his inner self. The shading around the eyes is particularly compelling. There’s a weight to it, a depth that hints at melancholy. What was he thinking as he rendered his own gaze? Was it a moment of quiet introspection, or perhaps a confrontation with his own mortality? This portrait reminds me of other artists who turned to self-portraiture as a means of self-discovery, like Rembrandt, or Käthe Kollwitz. There is something so human about the desire to understand ourselves through art. Each mark a small step in the journey, each portrait an invitation to see the artist, and ourselves, a little more clearly.