Self-Portrait in Profile, Smoking c. 1986s

Editor: This is Saul Steinberg's "Self-Portrait in Profile, Smoking," made around 1966, created using pen. There's a definite sardonic quality to this simple line drawing, and it really seems to capture a particular mid-century intellectual persona. How do you read this piece? Curator: Well, seen through a historical lens, Steinberg’s cartoonish self-portrait provides commentary on the artist’s role within postwar society. Consider the time it was created, right? What societal role was the artist filling in the 1960s? Editor: Sort of a rebellious outsider? Curator: Precisely. The figure, almost comically distinguished with his hat and spectacles, engages in the very deliberate act of smoking. But it’s a knowing, almost self-deprecating image. Note how it’s rendered on a page ripped from a sketchbook, complete with visible tape and unfinished lines. This adds to the sense of immediacy. He seems to be poking fun at the expected pretension of an artist’s self-image. It’s deliberately accessible. Editor: So, you’re saying the sketch's imperfections are the point? Curator: Absolutely. It undermines the ideal of the serious, untouchable artist. By showing the working process so candidly, Steinberg democratizes art. Does that shift your interpretation at all? Editor: Definitely! I was so focused on the figure’s mood that I missed the statement he was making about the art world itself. Curator: That's exactly what examining it through the lens of cultural context can reveal. Editor: I'll remember that. Thanks for expanding my understanding!