Christian Schad - Self-Portrait [1927]

Unlike some of the other Verists, Christian Schad (German, 1894-1982) had no need to delve into caricatures of humans. He was fully capable of making us squirm with excruciating realism alone, such as that found in Self Portrait. You are left with no doubt as to why these two people are here, but it was very clearly a joyless act. Schad is unsparing of himself; he is troubled looking, neither naked nor clothed and, though in the foreground, most definitely not the dominant force in the scene. The woman, on the other hand, is so obviously in charge that she is defiantly nude and almost palpably bored.

[Oil on wood, 76 x 61.5 cm]