Self-Portrait 1910

Willi Baumeister painted this self-portrait with oil on canvas. Look how he builds up the form of his face and clothes with all these little hatches of paint. Each stroke is like a little decision, a response to the color and shape next to it. That’s what painting is – a conversation with the materials, a back and forth. The cool blues and greens in the background make the warm tones of his face pop. I really like the way he's defined the lamp using just a few well-placed strokes. If you look closely at the line of his jaw, you'll notice how Baumeister uses these choppy marks to create a sense of volume and shadow. It’s not about smooth blending but about the energy of each stroke. This reminds me a little of Van Gogh, who was also interested in the expressive power of mark-making. Painting is always about how artists respond to the conversation of art history. It's a continuous dialogue of ideas and techniques.