Gedeformeerd vrouwenlichaam met drie cirkels 1900 - 1933

Jacob Bendien made this intriguing piece, "Deformed Female Body with Three Circles," using engraving to carve out a space of ambiguous form. The repeated use of horizontal lines in the background really draws the eye into the foreground, and creates a sense of almost 3D space. The whole image feels carved, like he's digging into the paper to find this abstract figure. The circles, especially the large one, have this radiating quality, each line carefully placed to suggest light and depth. I keep thinking about how Bendien carefully manipulated the surface to get this range of tones, this push-and-pull between light and shadow. Bendien’s work has some of the enigmatic quality you see in Giorgio de Chirico, that feeling of a dreamscape just out of reach. It’s not about perfect representation; it’s about feeling, about an experience that shifts as you look.