Onvoltooid zelfportret, voorjaar 1942 1942

Editor: This is Cor van Teeseling's "Onvoltooid zelfportret, voorjaar 1942," an unfinished self-portrait from 1942, rendered in pencil. There's a haunting quality to its incompleteness; the visible absence suggests a deeper statement. How do you interpret this work from a formalist perspective? Curator: The emphasis on line is undeniable. Note the precise, almost tentative, application of the pencil, particularly around the eyes and nose. The sparse lines, more suggestion than declaration, build form without closure. It exposes the basic visual components. It lacks chiaroscuro. The even distribution of light contributes to a flatness of the image, negating the traditional aim to reproduce perceived reality. How does this flatness contribute to your experience of the work? Editor: I see what you mean. The drawing feels incomplete and vulnerable. This bareness really emphasizes the structural elements. Curator: Precisely. The deliberate use of emptiness shapes the viewer’s perception. The drawing's meaning, in this view, stems not from some external representation, but from the relationship between line, form, and the void it occupies. Its semantic import depends upon careful consideration of structural and compositional cues, and the physical properties of the materials employed. Editor: This approach highlights elements I hadn’t previously focused on. Thinking about it now, the void is palpable, in relation to the drawing's other elements. Curator: Formalism seeks to establish a basis of aesthetic appreciation not grounded on mere sentiment. The materiality, the lines and structure of a composition. Through analyzing these inherent properties of a given artwork we can learn a good deal about how we perceive our relationship with the object. Editor: Thanks! I'll definitely be viewing art with a different lens going forward.