self-portrait 1913

This self-portrait by David Kakabadzé, date unknown, is oil on canvas, and has a kind of glowing stillness about it. Look at the way he builds up those layers of color! It’s all about process, about letting the painting breathe, and allowing the colors to mix optically. The dark jacket against the fantastic background makes me think about his body as a form built out of the material of paint. The garden in the background is a series of greens and reds, made up of many different marks. Then there’s that almost cartoonish classical arch, sitting oddly in the verdant space. I think it might be a reference to the way we frame ourselves, and the way artists try to capture a likeness, but always end up with something slightly…off. The mark that grabs me most is the way he has rendered his own hand, a pale and subtle form, but with great purpose. I’m reminded of artists like Marsden Hartley, who similarly transformed reality into highly personal visions. Ultimately, the painting embraces all these different visions, and ways of seeing.