The artwork titled “As The Artist Sees Himself” is a self-portrait created by Norval Morrisseau in 1992. It is part of the Naïve Art movement, particularly Primitivism, which is characterized by a simplistic and unrefined style that often carries a raw and expressive energy.
The artwork vividly portrays its subject with a style that exemplifies Primitivism’s aesthetic through the use of bold colors and simplified shapes. The figure in the self-portrait is stylized with thick outlines and filled with vibrant, pulsating patterns that give the impression of a dynamic inner life or spirituality. The background is a flat, unmodulated blue, creating a stark contrast with the riot of colors used to depict the figure. The artwork conveys a sense of immediacy and lacks the strict representational accuracy found in more classical portraits, which is typical of Naïve Art. Instead, it presents an introspective and symbolic representation of the self, perceived through the lens of the artist’s personal vision and unique pictorial language.
