Zelfportret: B-1-1, 24 februari Possibly 1942

This small portrait was drawn by Cor van Teeseling on February 24th. The pencil lines are delicate, almost tentative, as if the artist were feeling his way across the paper. I wonder what he was thinking as he looked in the mirror, trying to capture his own likeness. Was it a moment of self-reflection, or simply an exercise in observation? The drawing is incomplete, a sketch rather than a finished work. It reminds me that painting is a process of searching, a conversation between the artist and the canvas. Each line, each mark, is a step in that dialogue, a way of exploring not just the subject but the act of seeing itself. And in this unfinished quality, there's a vulnerability, an honesty that resonates with me. It’s like we're catching a glimpse of the artist's mind at work.