Self Portrait, January 1916 1916

Curator: I’m immediately struck by how intensely vulnerable this feels. The light feels almost cruelly honest, dissecting the face. Editor: Here we have Charles Burchfield’s "Self-Portrait, January 1916," rendered in watercolor. It offers us a glimpse into the artist’s perception of himself during a pivotal time. What makes you say it feels vulnerable? Curator: The divided face, for starters. One half is bathed in this stark, almost brutal light, the other hidden in shadow. It’s as if he’s showing us the public and private selves, in conflict. And those eyes…they're filled with such weariness. It is hard to look away. Editor: Indeed. It’s interesting to note that Burchfield painted this portrait at a time when he was wrestling with his artistic direction. He was feeling the pull between commercial design work and his more expressive, personal painting. The bowtie seems a touch performative amidst such raw exposure. Curator: Exactly. It is a defense mechanism! Almost like saying, "Look, I'm put together," while everything else screams of introspection. It makes you wonder what kind of conversation was happening within him during that harsh January. Editor: It's a testament to his skill that he conveys such depth of emotion through relatively simple means. He employs those loose brushstrokes and a limited palette to really draw us into his psychological state. Considering he leaned heavily into abstraction later in his career, this almost hyper-real exposure feels radical. Curator: The bold simplicity forces a confrontation. No romanticizing here. Just raw, unadulterated self-inspection. And, perhaps, a dare. A dare to look that honestly at oneself. Editor: Well said. This piece provides insight into an artist defining himself against cultural and economic forces while also challenging artistic conventions through personal expression. Thank you for sharing that vulnerable perspective. Curator: My pleasure. And thank you for revealing that history, a history embodied within this portrait of light and shadow.