Self-Portrait 1955

Elmer Bischoff created this self-portrait in oil paint, building the image with distinct blocks of color. Look at the way he’s captured his face, like he’s piecing together a puzzle. What was he thinking as he stared into the mirror, brush in hand? The skin tones, rendered in hues of orange and green, feel honest but slightly off-kilter, a bit Fauvist, you know? The background is really interesting, too. It kind of looks like a window, but it’s ambiguous. He’s not trying to trick you into thinking this is real, but it’s a great rendering of the space between real and not real. He's having a conversation with artists like Matisse and Derain, as well as his Bay Area peers like Diebenkorn. You can feel the history of painting humming beneath the surface of the canvas. It’s like he’s saying, "I’m here, I’m painting, and I’m part of this ongoing story."