Frank Auerbach’s Early Charcoal Portraits Look Deep Into Human Life

German-British painter Frank Auerbach repeatedly sketched his sitters for this series of large-scale charcoal portraits created between 1956 and 1962, erasing the image after each session until only a ghostly outline remained.

Until he thought he had captured the essence of the subject, he would repeat the process; frequently, the paper would tear. For an exhibition, curator Barnaby Wright has assembled the portraits for the first time.

“What is so captivating about the drawings is how Auerbach could elicit such complex responses with just a piece of charcoal and a stick of chalk,” Wright says. “Because we are surrounded by so many superficial depictions of people, these drawings provide us with a richer substitute that is both incredibly human and vibrant.”

h/t: guardian