Pierrot I 1917

This is Lodewijk Schelfhout’s ‘Pierrot I’, made with etching. It looks like it was made in a single go, and it's cool to see the bare minimum of what it takes to make something striking. The dark blacks give it a graphic punch. He's not trying to hide the process, it's all right there in the cross-hatching. The etched lines are almost like a code for the face. It reminds me a bit of Picasso in his blue period, all gloom and sharp edges. The textures created by the etching, especially in the background, give it a moody, almost theatrical vibe. I keep coming back to the eye – the way the diamond shape has been cut out to give this impression of looking at something not in front of them. It’s as if he's seeing something we can't. It’s kind of haunting, right? Think of Goya, or maybe even some of those German Expressionist prints – that same feeling of unease, a world slightly off-kilter. It's a great piece because it doesn't try to be anything other than what it is.