Zelfportret: B-1-1, 13 februari Possibly 1942

Cor van Teeseling made this self-portrait on February 13th, 1941, probably with graphite on paper. The way he’s built up the form with these tiny, almost nervous marks, it's like he's feeling his way through his own image, trying to capture something elusive. Look at how the light catches his brow, and the shadows deepen around his eyes and mouth. You can almost feel the pressure of the pencil, the subtle gradations creating depth and volume. There’s a vulnerability there, a sense of introspection that feels incredibly intimate. It reminds me of some of the early self-portraits by artists like Egon Schiele, who used line in a similar way, to convey a raw emotional state. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is a conversation across time, an ongoing exploration of what it means to be human.