As in his poetry and music, Rosenmann-Taub penetrates to the essential in his drawings. Confining himself to the rigor of black and white, he achieves his effects with minimal means: pen and ink, chalk, charcoal, pastel. Although at first his manner may appear realistic, close examination reveals that he transcends surface reality.
His drawings take many dynamic forms, but the majority focus on physiognomy: a vast and varied gallery of portraits. In each, Rosenmann-Taub captures not just one biographical moment, but the whole predicament inherent in the individual’s existence. The enigmas of these lives are fathomed — intimate feelings, unresolved contradictions, dubious compromises, irreparable mistakes. These beings, stripped of all masks, lay bare the human drama. He has created more than eight hundred drawings. Certain series, such as La Bofetada (The Slap), Alarde (Boast), and La Decepción (Disappointment), are centered on a particular theme. Apart from a few illustrations he has done for his own books of poetry, these masterpieces are unknown.
Four drawings of David Rosenmann-Taub were presented during October 2015 in the Santiago exhibition Los poetas más allá del poema (The poets beyond the poem), which brought together 30 drawings, paintings, and objects from authors such as David Rosenmann-Taub, Pablo Neruda, Nicanor Parra, Enrique Lihn, among others.