Self Portrait 1913

Jan Mankes made this self-portrait, using etching, sometime before his death in 1920. The etching feels so delicate, almost a whisper of a portrait, made up of thousands of tiny marks. It's like he's building himself up from the smallest details, each little line contributing to the whole. What strikes me most is the way the light catches his face, how certain areas are left almost untouched, allowing the paper to breathe and to be a ground from which the image can emerge. Look at the shadow under his cheekbone, it's just a few strokes, yet it defines his whole face. It's that kind of economy that gives the work its power. The texture of the paper itself becomes part of the image, it's integral. You can see this influence again and again in the work of Lucian Freud who also seems fascinated by the potential of a single line. Ultimately, it's a reminder that art isn't about answers, but about questions, and the more questions it raises, the better.