The artwork titled “Self Portrait” was created by René Magritte in 1923 in Brussels, Belgium. This piece, rendered in oil on canvas, is influenced by the Cubism art movement and falls within the self-portrait genre.
The artwork itself features a complex array of geometric shapes and bold, contrasting colors, characteristic of Cubism. The composition is fragmented, with multiple angular facets that intersect and overlay each other. Despite the abstraction, the facial features and the semblance of Magritte’s visage emerge through the interplay of muted and vibrant colors such as red, yellow, brown, and black. The intense, angular lines and sharp forms create a sense of depth and texture, offering a modern, almost enigmatic self-representation of the artist. The use of such vivid and harsh shapes breaks down the traditional contours of a face, pushing the observer to engage with the dynamism and abstraction intrinsic to Cubist ideology.
