Czóbel Béla 1940 Dery Tibor 1940

This portrait of Dery Tibor was drawn with charcoal by Bela Czobel in 1940. Look closely at the face, how the artist has built it up with dark, smudgy lines. Imagine Czobel, rapidly sketching, trying to capture a likeness, a feeling. I wonder what it’s like to be an artist in that moment, looking so intensely at someone’s face, studying its topography, trying to translate what you see into a two-dimensional form with just a few lines of charcoal. The eyes are black holes, aren’t they? Drawing is about seeing, but it’s also about feeling. The way the lines radiate out from the face give a sense of the energy of the person, almost like an aura. Painters are always in conversation, borrowing, stealing, and riffing off each other, making something new, like jazz. Each artist brings their own experience, their own way of seeing, and adds something to the ongoing story of art. There is no right way to see this image, just feel it.