Selvportrett 1926

Edvard Munch made this self-portrait in watercolor on paper, and right away I’m struck by the boldness and directness of his marks. It's like he’s trying to capture not just what he looks like, but also some feeling, maybe a mood. Look at the way he uses color, it’s not about being realistic. The blues and oranges feel almost aggressive. It's like he's fighting with himself, or maybe just with the act of painting itself. The paint is thin, washy, but the strokes are confident, almost like he’s slashing at the paper. I love how around the eyes you can see purple and green. There’s a kind of vulnerability in that roughness, a sense of honesty that’s really compelling. This reminds me of someone like Alice Neel, also concerned with expression and emotion through portraiture. Art at its best, is not about answers but about the questions we ask.