Self-portrait 1903

Elin Danielson-Gambogi made this self-portrait with oil on canvas, and you can really see the brushstrokes and layers of paint. Looking at this painting I can't help but think about what it's like to be an artist making a portrait of themselves. There is this searching gaze that looks both inwards and outwards. Is she trying to work out who she is, or how she looks to the world? The muted palette makes me think she's trying to find her true likeness, digging beneath the surface. I love the way the red dress contrasts with the pale skin tones and the drab background, bringing her to life. It reminds me of a Frida Kahlo portrait, or maybe Paula Modersohn-Becker, other women painters who turned the mirror on themselves. I see how artists work in a kind of chain, each one picking up where the last one left off, pushing things forward while looking back. It's a good reminder that painting lets us hold onto uncertainty, and that every artwork can have more than one story.