Tete VIII 1947

Pavel Tchelitchew made "Tete VIII" using colored pencil on paper. The drawing emerges through a mesh of marks, as if Tchelitchew built the image up layer by layer, feeling his way into the representation. Looking at this drawing I start to wonder about the artist's mental state: Was he looking in a mirror? Or was he more interested in the map of veins beneath the skin and what they tell us about the body? The head is rendered with cool blues, purples, and pinks, while the network of veins is drawn in reds, oranges, and yellows. There's a contrast between surface and depth, which speaks to the artist's wider interest in perception and the subconscious. The veins and arteries seem to pulse with life, evoking a sense of vulnerability. Artists learn from each other, building on what’s come before. Tchelitchew's work reminds me of other painters who explored the body. I admire how he embraced a personal vision, inviting us to question what we see and how we see it.