Self-portrait with mustache 1915

Editor: We're looking at Jan Mankes' "Self-portrait with mustache," an etching from 1915. There’s something quite vulnerable about it, despite the mustache which attempts a kind of…defiance? What do you see in this piece, especially considering the period? Curator: What strikes me immediately is the act of self-representation itself. In 1915, as Europe was being torn apart by war, Mankes turns inward. This etching becomes a quiet, intensely personal act of resistance against the machismo and nationalistic fervor of the time. Do you notice how the detail given to the face contrasts with the understated clothing? Editor: Yes, the face feels so present, almost hyper-realistic in its detail. While the body fades into the background, de-emphasized. Curator: Exactly. Mankes seems to be asking, "What does it mean to be a man, an artist, in a world consumed by violence?" He challenges prevailing notions of masculinity not through grand gestures, but through quiet introspection. This work makes visible the often-erased perspectives of those who questioned dominant narratives of the time. Who were seen but unheard. How does it speak to you now? Editor: I never considered it in that light. Seeing it as a deliberate act of introspection rather than just a self-portrait really changes how I read the image. I feel it on a personal level. The contrast between the time of violence and introspective gaze adds to my appreciation of the work. Curator: Right. So considering Mankes’s gender and race…how does this contextualization encourage a modern-day viewer to participate in historical reflection of agency and cultural criticism of male portraits? Editor: That makes the etching even more resonant, a call for constant self-reflection in the face of prevailing power structures and masculine images in artworks. Curator: Absolutely. And I think it is relevant and valuable in our times of increasing global conflict, not as a reflection of war, but as a possible personal rebellion against the system.