Self-portrait with Cigarette 

Curator: Well, that's intense. My first thought? A real 'night of the soul' captured in black and mustard yellow. It feels...brooding, doesn’t it? Editor: Indeed. What you’re observing is Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Self-portrait with Cigarette, a study in contrast. Although it doesn't bear a specific date, it invites a profound contemplation on existential themes. Curator: Existential themes... fancy way of saying "I’m having a bad day, let me immortalize it". But seriously, it's compelling. The harsh lines, almost like fractured glass, and that cigarette—it's practically screaming, "angst!" What's with the colors though? That specific shade of yellow feels deliberate, almost sickening. Editor: The high-contrast palette and bold brushstrokes serve to deconstruct the sitter into planes, pushing towards an abstraction while simultaneously highlighting the emotional disquiet. It moves beyond mere portraiture; it's a manifestation of internal turmoil, a visual language for psychological distress. Curator: Oh, psychological distress I know very well. But is it me, or does this feel really performative? Like he *wants* you to see how tormented he is. Maybe I’m too cynical for Expressionism, but the melodrama of it all… It does give good tattoo inspo though, that high contrast. Editor: The ‘melodrama’, as you put it, is central to the Expressionist project. Kirchner sought to represent inner experience rather than external reality, and such honesty can feel vulnerable, even exposed. There are visible tattoos visible here, certainly, and I concede their interesting design in tandem with a swirling composition has a remarkable pull on the eye. Curator: Exposed is definitely the word. It's in your face, raw, like ripping a page from his diary. And the cigarette, can't forget that, such a cliched pose, and yet. It works. Adds that touch of self-destructive cool. I wonder what brand he smoked. Editor: Indeed. It seems an object for an art historical investigation with semiotic tools is the most helpful. Curator: Exactly. Sometimes it takes that jolt of ugliness to truly show beauty, right? Editor: Aptly put. The intensity of feeling remains long after we look away, challenging us.