Self-Portrait c. 1920

Abraham F. Levinson made this self-portrait in pencil on a small, irregular piece of paper. It's a process of feeling out his own image, one line at a time. The texture of the paper is visible beneath the spare pencil marks, giving the work a raw, immediate quality. The lines themselves are tentative, searching, as if Levinson is trying to capture not just his likeness, but also his inner self. Notice the way the lines around his eyes are darker, more insistent, conveying a sense of intensity, a penetrating gaze. It's as if he's looking both at himself and at us, challenging us to see him as he sees himself. This reminds me of the early self-portraits of Egon Schiele, with their similar sense of raw vulnerability. Like Schiele, Levinson seems to be using the self-portrait as a means of self-discovery, an ongoing process of questioning and exploration. It's a reminder that art is not just about capturing a likeness, but about the search for truth.