Zelfportret en face: B-1-1, 19 februari Possibly 1942

Cor van Teeseling made this self-portrait, Zelfportret en face: B-1-1, 19 februari, with pencil on paper. It's all hatched marks, layer upon layer of tiny, nervous energy, building to a fever pitch around his eyes. I can imagine Cor bent over the paper, squinting in the mirror, drawing himself into being, line by line, a flurry of graphite dust. What was he thinking as he made this? It’s a tender but unflinching study. The surface teems with life; a field of marks, each one tentative and searching, never quite resolving into a fixed form. The graphite is dry and powdery, but these delicate grey lines manage to suggest depth and shadow. The way he renders his gaze, so direct and vulnerable, is really something. It reminds me of a drawing by Giacometti, or maybe a Morandi still life. These artists are all so different, yet they share a common sensibility, a shared way of looking and feeling. And like all artists, they are in an ongoing conversation. We can see it passed down in marks on a page.