Untitled (Death Mask) 1978

Arnulf Rainer made this “Untitled (Death Mask)” piece, using photography and overpainting as a way of working through an idea. I find that the colour palette, reduced to blues and greys, adds to the heavy atmosphere, like a dark filter that is making you think about mortality. The marks are agitated and swirling, obscuring the photographic image underneath. You can tell Rainer was working quickly and intuitively, letting his subconscious guide the process. Look at the intensity of the blue scribbles around the eyes and mouth, almost obliterating these features, which is unsettling. It feels as though Rainer is confronting something deeply personal. I think about the work of Francis Bacon, his paintings of distorted figures, and how both artists use the human form to explore existential themes. Art invites us to consider multiple layers of meaning.