Zelfportret: B-1-1, 15 januari Possibly 1942

Curator: Let's turn our attention to "Zelfportret: B-1-1, 15 januari," a self-portrait rendered in graphite, potentially dating back to 1942, currently held in the Rijksmuseum's collection, and signed by Cor van Teeseling. Editor: It's so faint. There’s almost nothing there; just the ghost of a face staring out at us. It’s unsettling and vulnerable, the epitome of raw emotion. Curator: Indeed, its incompleteness is striking. This drawing becomes incredibly potent when considered through the lens of van Teeseling’s biography during World War II. As an artist living under Nazi occupation, the 'incompleteness' could reflect a sense of erasure, an imposed lack of identity that echoes wider socio-political realities. The choice to leave the image in such a skeletal form could symbolize his struggle for self-expression. Editor: Perhaps. I’m drawn more to the delicate quality of the line work. See how the minimal use of shading around the eyes suggests depth? It’s almost architectural, constructing a face with the barest essentials of structure. I feel like I’m looking at pure form, divorced from content. Curator: Yet, even these minimal lines have power, particularly when discussing portraiture. Consider the history of self-representation; here we find what can be read as quiet resistance. Editor: I appreciate how your approach gives voice to the work! However, I also want to emphasize the intrinsic details, the artist’s careful choice of the medium itself, the tooth of the paper... Everything contributes to the overall composition. I suppose that while your work interprets outward forces, I am constantly driven to decode internal forces. Curator: A perfect reminder that, ultimately, art creates space for varied perspectives to coalesce! Editor: I completely agree. Hopefully listeners can connect and discover fresh dialogues in other works we discussed as well.