The Texture of a Soul Born in 1959, Peter Engels has spent his life looking closely at the people who shape our collective memory. He is a Belgian contemporary portrait artist who works with a singular, physical intensity. Rather than using traditional brushes to smooth out the edges of a face, he relies exclusively on the palette knife. This choice creates a heavy, three-dimensional texture that catches the light in a way that feels tangible. His work often feels like a fragment of a film, captured in a moment of quiet reflection. He focuses on large, close-up portraits that strip away the n…