Zelfportret: B-1-1, 26 februari Possibly 1942

Cor van Teeseling made this pencil drawing, Self-Portrait: B-1-1, 26 February, on paper. Look at the soft, gentle pressure of the pencil, like he was barely touching the page, building up the form slowly. The strokes around the eyes, the mouth, are so delicate, so searching. You can see him feeling his way around his own face. The hair is a darker, more confident series of marks. They contrast with the ethereal quality of the skin. The whole thing shimmers. Even though it's a straightforward self-portrait, the subtlety of the shading gives it an ambiguous, almost dreamlike quality. It reminds me of some of the portrait drawings by Lucian Freud, the way they both manage to capture a likeness while also revealing something deeper about the subject. There is an intimacy in the way he has rendered himself. A real tenderness. It leaves a space for our own interpretation and feeling.