Portrait of an old man 1916

Aleksandr Deyneka made this portrait of an old man using graphic pencil in 1956. The controlled hatching that builds the image feels both tentative and precise, like the artist is feeling their way into the character of the sitter. Look at the marks around the eye sockets and cheekbones, the way Deyneka describes the wear and tear of time on the face. It’s a network of tiny lines that create a topography of the skin. Then compare that to the looser marks describing the beard. The softness is a counterpoint to the hard, knowing gaze of the eyes. You can almost feel the different textures. There are echoes here of earlier masters of drawing like Käthe Kollwitz, but with a uniquely modern feel. And maybe that's what drawing is all about, the constant reworking of what has come before. It's not about answers, but about keeping the conversation going.