Autoportrait vers 1901

Eugene Carriere made this self-portrait sometime around the turn of the 20th century, and it looks like he used mostly browns and creams, working the paint in soft, hazy layers. Looking at this painting, what strikes me is how he's built the image from these wispy, almost ghostly marks. It feels like he's trying to capture not just what he looks like, but the very essence of himself, you know? There's a real sense of searching, of trying to find form within the fog. Notice how the paint around the edges of his face seems to dissolve into the background, like he's emerging from a dream. It's pretty cool. Carriere's work reminds me a bit of Odilon Redon, who was also into exploring the more mysterious, symbolic side of art. Both of them were less concerned with capturing reality perfectly and more interested in creating a mood, an atmosphere, an experience. To me, that's what art is all about - not just showing us something, but making us feel something.