Self Portrait 1938

This self-portrait by Yiannis Moralis is a dense little world, full of earth tones and muted light. I can imagine him standing before a mirror in his studio, palette in hand, squinting to capture his own likeness. The paint here is creamy, thick in places, especially in the way he models the planes of his face. The brushstrokes are confident, almost sculptural, giving a real sense of volume and presence. The way he painted the eyes, though—there’s a real intensity there, a kind of questioning. You can sense him thinking, feeling, observing himself as he paints. It makes me think about how all painters are connected, riffing off each other across time. This painting speaks to a long tradition of artists turning inward, using their own image as a site for exploration. It reminds me a little of Lucian Freud, but with a softer touch, a more melancholic mood. Painting is such an intimate act, and this self-portrait feels like a glimpse into Moralis’s soul.