Selbstporträt mit dem Tod c. 1932

Karl Wiener made this watercolor self-portrait with death, sometime in the first half of the 20th century. It's a haunting piece, the kind where the colors feel like they're seeping into each other, like a bruise. You can really see the hand of the artist here. The paint is applied in thin washes, letting the paper breathe through, but there are also these concentrated areas of dark, almost muddied color that create a real sense of unease. Look at the way the shadows are built up around the eyes of both figures, Wiener and death, it's like they're peering out from some hidden realm. The surface has this kind of matte, almost chalky quality, which gives it a ghostly feel. There’s a rawness, an immediacy to the work, which reminds me a bit of Egon Schiele. Wiener isn't trying to pretty things up, he's grappling with something profound here, and inviting us to do the same.