Self-Portrait 1920 - 1922

Curator: Welcome. We’re standing before Vilhelm Lundstrom’s “Self-Portrait,” an oil painting completed between 1920 and 1922. It’s currently housed here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: My initial impression is… introspective, almost confrontational. The impasto technique creates a very tactile surface, and the subdued palette amplifies a sense of solemnity. Curator: Indeed. Lundstrom’s brushwork is quite deliberate. Look at how he uses those thick, sculptural strokes to define the planes of his face. It’s a masterful exploration of form and light. Editor: I’m drawn to the austere formality, almost severity. The man is depicted wearing the suit and tie of a professional class, while the expression reveals some degree of distress, anxiety, or frustration. Curator: Observe how the artist eschews conventional rendering. He deconstructs the face into geometric shapes. There's a tangible modernism in how he manipulates mass and volume. Editor: Absolutely. I see that this is more than a personal likeness, I believe he is making a statement on the relationship of the human to progress at a very tumultuous period of Europe’s evolution. A challenge to find meaning in a world rapidly becoming a thing beyond control. Curator: An astute observation! The lack of embellishment and the simplified composition steer us toward an emotional rawness that's quite characteristic of expressionism, while embracing a simplified geometric style from early Modernism. Editor: And those piercing eyes… they seem to hold a certain resignation. A cultural exhaustion. This painting transcends its formal elements. It's a visual embodiment of the weight of personal and collective consciousness during this period. Curator: I concur completely. Lundstrom’s self-representation transcends mere aesthetics; it operates within a structured vocabulary. It certainly offers a glimpse into a man’s artistic soul. Editor: Precisely, a soul grappling with modernity and the ever-changing symbols of existence, expertly depicted in thick, sculpted daubs. A moving self-examination and something quite more universal, I feel.