Man met hoed en bril 1914

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this print of a man with a hat and glasses at an unknown date. I'm imagining the focus and pressure needed to create this striking portrait with, what seems like, small marks and lines. It’s a tight composition, and the man’s got a wide-brimmed hat that dominates the image, casting shadows. The glasses are cool, catching the light. I bet it took real skill to capture that. The contrast between light and dark is so strong it almost feels theatrical. I wonder what Schelfhout was thinking about when he made this? I see a bit of Otto Dix in there, maybe some expressionism. Artists are always looking at each other, borrowing ideas, and pushing them further. The physicality of mark-making offers so much room for interpretation. There's a vulnerability there. And doesn’t that make you feel something?