Portret van een onbekende man c. 1930s

Franz Ziegler made this portrait of an unknown man, but he made it by way of printmaking. It’s a really interesting, subtle approach with the hatching of the lines to create shading and form. You can see how the artmaking process itself is front and center here. Look at the texture Ziegler coaxes out of this print. The surface has this almost velvet quality, especially around the background, and the careful rendering of the sitter's stubble. You can really feel the artist's hand at work, adjusting and refining the image to reach this level of resolution. Notice the way Ziegler defines the bridge of the man's nose and then the soft curve around his cheek. It's like a conversation between light and shadow, isn't it? Ziegler’s portrait reminds me a bit of some of the German Expressionist prints, but with a softer touch, like Otto Dix meeting a more classical sensibility. Ultimately, art's about an ongoing conversation, a dance between tradition and innovation, clarity and ambiguity.