Self-Portrait 1943

Ligia Macovei made this self-portrait, probably in oil, and the painting process looks like a mix of planning and letting go. There’s this odd, flat table in the foreground built up with careful, square marks of gold and yellow. Then her face, obscured by a hand, looks out at us. But behind her, there’s this slightly creepy, expressionistic space of trees. They’re like antlers, painted with thin, scratchy lines. They look both organic and totally artificial, right? That background feels like a stage set. It's as if she’s placed herself in a psychological landscape as much as a real one. This is where I think of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who did her own, strikingly honest self-portraits. But Macovei adds this layer of surreal unease. It's about the theater of the self, and how we perform even when we’re alone. It’s a reminder that self-portraits aren't mirrors. They’re conversations.