Self Portrait 1960

This self-portrait by Valerii Lamakh is made with paint – maybe gouache or tempera – and has a really interesting sense of color. The skin tones are built from warm yellows and browns, but it's the way the artist uses line that grabs me, and the decision to leave the eyes blank. There's a flatness to the surface, but the angular shapes in the figure’s clothing, rendered in shades of blue, white, and red, create a kind of spatial tension, like a puzzle where the pieces don't quite fit. Look closely at the way the blue background is applied in loose, gestural strokes. You can see how the artist layered the paint, allowing some of the underpainting to peek through. It makes the image feel alive, unresolved. Lamakh was a Ukranian artist working in the Soviet era, and his bold, graphic style reminds me a bit of Fernand Léger, but with a more personal, introspective feel. This painting leaves you with more questions than answers, but maybe that’s the point.