Artist
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff 1884 – 1976

About the work
This self-portrait dating from immediately after the First World War is full of an energy which, gathered into comb-like structures, seems to be radiating out of the left side of the artist’s face. In front of the white background, the head in the foreground of the picture appears very close. The shoulders stretch out to the edge of the picture: made up of solid areas of black ink, they stabilise the composition. Schmidt-Rottluff has succeeded in describing his own facial features exactly despite using mainly geometric shapes. The thirty-five-year-old artist‘s distinctive long face, with its moustache and its perfectly round goatee, his full lips, bushy eyebrows and high forehead are captured well. His striking nose is emphasised by means of its end, which is shaped like a square standing on one of its points. During this period Schmidt-Rottluff ’s rendition of eyes varied. In this case, his open eye with its round pupil makes active contact with its surroundings, whereas the other eye remains distanced and introverted.

Catalog raisonné
Schapire H 245