Self-Portrait 1936

John Christensen made this self-portrait with oil on canvas, but the exact date is unknown. Look at how he's put the paint down – kind of scrubby, right? You can tell he’s pushing the paint around, thinking through the process. There's a real physicality to this painting. The colors are muted, almost like a foggy day, but then you see these bright yellow dashes where the paint hasn't quite blended. I love how he’s holding the brushes, like a fistful of wheat. It makes me think about the tools we use, and how they become extensions of ourselves. Notice that the smoke is a similar colour to the marks on the face, as if the painting is smoking or decomposing somehow. This piece reminds me a bit of early Kirchner. There’s that same directness and intensity, that willingness to let the painting be a little raw, a little unresolved. And that’s what makes it so alive, I think. It's not about perfection; it's about the act of seeing, feeling, and making.