Double Self-Portrait 

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner created this “Double Self-Portrait” using oil on canvas. The stark colours and angular forms immediately seize your attention. The composition reveals two versions of the artist, each rendered in a distinct palette of unsettling greens and yellows. The painting's power lies in its departure from conventional representation. Kirchner uses colour not to mimic reality but to express inner states. The formal structure, with its bold, almost violent brushstrokes, reflects the emotional turmoil that marked the artist's life. This distortion aligns with Expressionism's aim to convey subjective experience over objective truth. The fracturing of the self into two distinct figures challenges fixed identity. Here, Kirchner engages with broader philosophical questions about the nature of selfhood and perception. This painting remains a compelling example of how art can destabilize established categories.