Zelfportret: B-1-1, 11 februari Possibly 1942

Editor: Here we have Cor van Teeseling’s pencil drawing, “Self-Portrait: B-1-1, 11 February,” possibly from 1942. The starkness of the medium and the subject's somewhat vacant expression create an unsettling mood. What's your take on this piece? Curator: The drawing, especially viewed through the lens of 1942, raises powerful questions. A self-portrait made during wartime isn't merely an exercise in artistic skill. It is also a document reflecting isolation. Teeseling may be grappling with a loss of control and forced self-reflection, given the context of the occupation. Can art even be divorced from social and political realities, particularly at this historical moment? Editor: So, the seeming simplicity of a pencil drawing can speak volumes about broader societal anxieties. Do you see elements of resistance, or perhaps quiet resilience, embedded within the portrait? Curator: It’s a fair question to ask if this is a statement of resistance, and there may not be a simple answer to that. Consider the gaze. While it might seem vacant initially, might it also be interpreted as defiance, or perhaps a refusal to perform the expected? Self-representation becomes an act of asserting one’s own existence. Editor: That's interesting – a refusal to perform. I hadn't considered that angle. I was stuck on the rather somber mood it evokes. Curator: Exactly! That initial emotional reaction is your point of entry into deeper questioning. Now, if we consider this portrait in dialogue with other self-portraits created by artists who faced oppression… Does this shift the context of understanding at all? Editor: I think it does. Framing the portrait within this wider discourse of art made under duress, helps appreciate it as an understated act of self-affirmation, possibly even dissent. Thanks. Curator: Precisely! By investigating the sociopolitical background and recognizing acts of resistance in nuanced ways we acknowledge its complexity.