Old Man 1922

Géza Bene made this drawing of an old man with brown ink, maybe in the early 20th century. Look at the way he's used these short, choppy strokes to build up the figure, layer by layer, almost like he's carving the image out of thin air. I bet Bene stood in front of his model, squinting, trying to capture not just what he saw, but what it felt like to be in the presence of this person, the kind of wisdom that comes with age etched into his face. Notice how the dark ink surrounds the figure; it’s as if the man is emerging from the shadows, or sinking back into them. Those hands clasped in his lap, they tell a story all on their own, don't they? It reminds me of other artists who have tried to capture the fleeting nature of human existence. But what's cool here is that it feels so raw, so immediate, like a quick sketch in a diary. Artists, we're all just riffing off each other, you know?