Selvportræt en face 1928

John Christensen made this pencil self-portrait in 1928. It's a frontal view, and what strikes me is how the simple act of drawing a line becomes a way of seeing, a way of thinking. The texture of the paper shows through, aged with spots, like memories on a fading photograph. You can almost feel the graphite scratching against the page, each mark carefully placed, building up the form. Look at the eyes, how they stare out at you, almost accusingly. The lines around the mouth suggest a sort of melancholy. It's not just a face, it's a mood, a moment captured in time. I'm reminded of Lucian Freud, how he used to strip away the surface to reveal something rawer, more vulnerable underneath. This drawing does that too, in its own quiet way.