Self-portrait with red moon 

Walter Gramatté made this self-portrait, with a red moon floating eerily in the background, using oil on canvas. Gramatté was part of the Expressionist movement, and like other artists associated with this style, he didn’t try to make a perfect likeness of himself. Instead, he used the inherent qualities of paint, its texture, color, and fluidity, to suggest something of his inner state. Notice the way the brushstrokes drag and pull across the surface, especially in the deep blue ground. This is a basic technique, but powerfully suggestive of the artist’s mood. We can only imagine the labor involved, the repetitive application of pigment, the mixing and layering to achieve the desired effect. Gramatté transforms simple, everyday materials into a deeply personal statement, challenging us to consider the boundary between the artist's subjective experience, and the wider social context in which he worked. Ultimately, understanding the materials, the making process, and the context is key to unlocking the artwork's full meaning.