J. de Gheyn c. 1970

Leonard Baskin created this print of J. de Gheyn without a date using ink on paper. The marks in this print look like they have been quickly and confidently applied to the paper. It's all done with these bold, confident lines that carve out the shapes and forms. Look at the figure’s eyes. They’re dark pools, almost like tears are streaming down the face. Baskin really goes for it, not holding back on the ink, which makes the whole image feel immediate and raw. The lines feel almost shaky or vibrating, which gives the portrait a kind of nervous energy. It's like Baskin is trying to capture not just a likeness, but also something about the inner state of the person he's drawing. You can almost hear Baskin thinking aloud as he made this. I think of other artists like Otto Dix, who also used printmaking to convey these sorts of psychological portraits. There is a conversation happening between artists across time and space that embraces ambiguity.