Self-Portrait 1928

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this Self-Portrait with watercolor, and maybe some ink, looking at how he applies the paint, it's all about the immediacy of the gesture. See how the washes of color bleed and blend, and then how the lines of black ink describe form, like around the eye closest to us, but also fragment it. It’s like he's building up an image from memory, a process of layering and adjusting. Look at that intense coral in the face, it’s like an emotional fever. There’s a vulnerability in the sketchiness, an honesty that’s rare in self-portraits, which can often be about presenting a certain image. There’s a kind of angst and urgency in Kirchner’s mark-making that reminds me of Egon Schiele. Both were exploring the raw edges of the human psyche. And just like Schiele, Kirchner isn’t afraid to leave things unresolved. It’s a glimpse into an inner world that feels both intimate and unsettling.