Self-Portrait 1918

Magnus Enckell painted this self-portrait, probably in oil on canvas, with strokes of vibrant colors. I can almost feel the energy he put into each brushstroke, the way the paint dances across the surface, trying to capture not just his likeness but something deeper. Imagine Enckell standing before the canvas, mixing colors, maybe frustrated, maybe inspired. I think he sees himself, really sees himself, in this mix of blues and yellows and greens. The colors are dabbed on one after the other. Are they the colours he expects to see? Does he make a change? It makes me think about how we all see ourselves and how that vision changes. This portrait feels like a conversation, not just with himself but with other artists, like Van Gogh, who also used paint to dig into the soul. Painting is like a mirror, reflecting not just what’s there but what could be, what we feel, what we dream.