Self-Portrait at Midnight 1969

José Luis Cuevas made this self-portrait on paper using pencil and watercolor and it is a ghostly, melancholy affair. The whole scene hovers in a wash of greys, punctuated by the artist's somber gaze. I can imagine Cuevas in his studio late at night, surrounded by the specters of his own making. Maybe he had charcoal smeared on his fingers and the night was full of self-doubt, or maybe it was just another Tuesday. Look how the washes create depth, how they evoke a heavy atmosphere. You can almost feel the dampness of the air. The marks around the figure are tentative, like the artist is feeling his way through the darkness, searching for a form that feels true. But it's the way the figure emerges from the gloom, with those piercing eyes that really grabs you. It's the kind of gaze you can feel, like he's daring you to look away. I think that all artists try to capture something essential about being human, and it is through the intimate act of looking and responding that this work comes alive, that we can find some shared recognition, even across time and space.