Steinlen de Face Tete Droite 1905

This is a portrait made by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, likely using charcoal or a similar drawing medium. What strikes me is the way he's built up the image through these almost frantic, energetic marks, especially around the eyes and beard. You get the sense he was really trying to capture not just a likeness, but the inner character of the subject. Look closely, and you can see how the texture varies—some areas are softly smudged, creating a hazy atmosphere, while others are sharply defined, giving weight and volume to the figure. The contrast between light and shadow is so dramatic; it’s as if the figure is emerging from the darkness. Notice that small patch of white at the throat, how it brings the whole image into focus. Steinlen reminds me a little of Käthe Kollwitz, in that they both were interested in depicting the working classes. But where Kollwitz is perhaps more monumental, Steinlen is more intimate, even delicate. It’s this balance between the raw and the refined, the visible process and the finished form, that makes this drawing so compelling.