Self-Portrait 1940

This self-portrait was made by Kálmán Kubinyi, and given to Frank Forcer in 1970. Look closely, and you can see the artist’s hand—the lines, the way he’s scratched into the plate. I imagine him bending over the metal, acid fumes biting his nostrils, trying to capture his own likeness. It's a tight composition, and the texture is very present. The artist has really worked the surface of the plate to get that dark tone. And the scratchy lines, especially around the eyes, give him an intense stare. He's really seeing you! You can almost feel his concentration, his focus on the task at hand. It reminds me of other self-portraits I’ve seen by artists like Beckmann or Kirchner. It's like they are all wrestling with their own image, trying to understand something about themselves. As painters, we are constantly in conversation with each other across time, borrowing, stealing, and transforming ideas. Ultimately, painting is about opening up new ways of seeing and experiencing the world.