Self-Portrait 1901

Raoul Dufy painted this self-portrait in 1901 with watercolor on paper. It’s a wash of warm browns and reds, with cool blues hinting at shadow, and he's caught himself looking pretty serious. I wonder what Dufy was thinking as he worked on this? Did he have a mirror set up? It feels so immediate, like he just dove right in without sketching first. I bet he stood at the easel, staring intently at his reflection, trying to capture the glint in his eye or the way the light fell across his cheekbones. The watery quality of the watercolor gives it a luminous feel, you know? It's like he's not just painting a portrait, but also trying to capture a fleeting moment, a mood. I feel like I know him, I can see his creative mind at work! And that's the beauty of painting, right? It's an intimate conversation between the artist and the viewer.