Portrait of Benno Reifenberg II 1963

Arno König made this drawing of Benno Reifenberg in 1963, and the artist has built up the image with many short, soft strokes of graphite, with a tight focus on the face. There’s a meditative air, an intimate exchange happening in the studio. I imagine König, his hand moving with that pencil, capturing not just Reifenberg's likeness but also a sense of his inner life. It’s all in those marks, you know? The way the light catches the forehead, the soft shadows under the eyes. The artist leaves some of the paper bare, so the portrait feels unfinished, like a memory or a fleeting thought. It’s interesting how one artist can see another, isn’t it? Like Philip Guston drawing his friends the poets, König is engaging with a history of portraiture and friendship, etching his own perspective into the mix.