Masker van Beethoven before 1913

Here is a portrait called 'Masker van Beethoven’ by Pierre Peeters. It's monochrome, almost sepia, like an old photograph bleached by the sun or an image from a dream, and it makes me think about the act of portraiture itself. I wonder if the artist felt Beethoven's presence while making it. Did Peeters listen to Beethoven’s music while drawing, trying to capture the essence of his spirit? The strokes are soft, searching, as if feeling for the form rather than just depicting it. It makes me think of a sculptor, working with clay, slowly revealing a form. It reminds me of Lucian Freud, another artist who wrestled with the human form, though in a very different style. Both artists, in their own way, invite us to contemplate the complexities of existence, and the challenge of capturing a likeness.