The Artist's Sister, Marie von Kalckreuth 1897

This pencil drawing depicts Leopold von Kalckreuth’s sister, Marie. Look closely at her eyes. Their direct gaze is reminiscent of ancient Roman portraiture, where a penetrating stare was intended to capture the essence of the individual. The directness of the gaze, carrying the weight of personal identity, reminds me of ancient funerary portraits from Egypt's Fayum, where the eyes were believed to hold the soul. This convention transcends time, finding echoes in Renaissance portraiture and beyond. Though separated by millennia and cultures, the human desire to capture and convey the essence of the self through the eyes persists. Here, the artist uses a more informal medium to invite us to reflect on the continuous thread of human experience. We are reminded of the enduring power of the portrait to capture not just an image, but a psychological and emotional truth.