Zelfportret: B-1-1, 1 februari Possibly 1942

Cor van Teeseling made this self-portrait in pencil on the 1st of February. Look at the paper, the delicate lines of the pencil, the slight smudge here and there… I bet he sat for hours staring at himself in the mirror, trying to capture not just his likeness, but something of his inner self too. You can see it in the gentle curve of his lips, the way he’s softened the gaze of his eyes. I wonder if he was thinking about the masters, Rembrandt maybe, or Van Gogh. The weight of art history can be a heavy burden, but it can also be a source of inspiration. Each line, each shadow, is a conversation with all the artists who came before, a way of saying, ‘I’m here, I’m part of this story too.’ It’s like he’s leaving a little piece of himself for us to find. Isn’t that amazing?