Zelfportret: B-1-1, 28 januari Possibly 1942

Cor van Teeseling made this self-portrait in pencil on January 28th, 1942. Look closely, and you can see how he worked and reworked lines to build up the image, almost like feeling his way across his own face. I wonder what he was thinking as he stared back at himself. Did he feel the weight of the paper, the give of the pencil? It’s a gentle touch, a soft grey haze that captures a quiet, thoughtful mood. It is incredible how much expression he manages with just a few lines and subtle gradations of tone. I'm thinking about other artists who have used the limitations of a monochrome palette to make evocative art, like the etchings of Rembrandt or the charcoal drawings of Käthe Kollwitz. There's an intimacy in this work, an exchange between artist and viewer, that transcends time. It’s like catching a glimpse of a fleeting thought, a shared moment of reflection.