The artwork titled “Self Portrait with Brushes” by Marc Chagall, created around 1909 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, is an oil painting on canvas measuring 57 x 48 cm. This piece is a self-portrait and falls under the Expressionism art movement. It is currently housed at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The painting depicts the artist, Marc Chagall himself, holding a few paintbrushes which are clasped in his hands. Dressed in a dark garment with a pronounced white collar and a dark hat, Chagall’s facial expression and posture exude a contemplative mood. The background introduces a subtle, dark ambiance, contrasted by abstract elements that add a mystical quality to the piece. The brushwork is expressive and characterizes the early 20th-century shift towards a more emotive and subjective representation in art.
