Self-Portrait 1905

Umberto Boccioni painted this self-portrait with oils, though the exact date is unknown. The way he's applied the paint here, it’s all about the surface, those broken touches of colour. It’s not quite pointillist, but you can see him building up form with dots, dashes, and commas. You get the sense of artmaking as a journey, a slow reveal. I love the way he's used the brush to create texture. The paint isn't overly thick, but it has a palpable quality. You can almost feel the bristles dragging across the canvas. Look closely at the tree behind him: the leaves are built up with layers of blues and greens, yet it’s economical. The way those strokes create a flickering movement feels very Post-Impressionist, like something Cezanne or Van Gogh might have done. There is this ongoing conversation through time. What does it mean to be a painter? It’s about seeing and feeling, and the translation of that into the material language of paint. It’s less about answers and more about the poetry of asking questions.