Self-Portrait [recto]

About this work

This sketch shows a bald man with a short beard and mustache. His face is drawn in soft, loose lines, with a slight tilt to his head. The paper has a warm, light brown tone, and the graphite strokes are quick and uneven. The artist focused on shading to show depth in the face, especially around the eyes and jaw. This kind of shading is called *chiaroscuro*—a technique that uses light and dark to create volume. Look up chiaroscuro to see how artists use shadows to make drawings feel three-dimensional.