Selbstporträt mit dem Tod c. 1932

Karl Wiener made this self-portrait with death with watercolor, I imagine trying to lay it down quickly before it dries. The green-skinned figure peers sideways at a stark white skull, and the background is a haze of deep blues and browns. I wonder what it was like for Wiener to put himself on the canvas alongside a symbol of mortality. The texture of the watercolor creates soft, blurred edges, making it feel like a dream or a memory. He’s made his own skin green like he is already becoming a ghost. The brushstrokes seem tentative, as though he's feeling his way through the darkness. The use of color is striking, with the sickly green of the figure contrasting against the dark backdrop. It's a bold choice that conveys a sense of unease and introspection. Artists are always conversing with mortality but this artist places himself right there, present. It is as if Wiener knew he was not going to live long, and this painting is an exploration of the fleeting nature of existence.