The Artist on Foreign and Native Soil (The Artist and the Muse) (1920)
The female figure in the middle panel of Hofmann’s triptych can be regarded not only as the Motherland mourning her departed son but also as the embodiment of an artistic idea. The two side self-portraits carry a similar ambiguity, reflecting perhaps painter’s Czech and Polish origin and his lifelong nomadism. However, it also illuminates the essential duality of every artist—the conflicting coexistence of the creative individual and the civilian. The artist scrutinizes and assesses the crisis of personal experience, moving towards a new form of life. In this way, the central chimerical being even aligns itself with the artist’s soul, simultaneously veiling its face in response to current weakness while fazing hopefully into the distance.
| Subject: | Others |
| Author: | Hofman, Wlastimil |
| Title: | The Artist on Foreign and Native Soil (The Artist and the Muse) (1920) |
| Date: | 1920 |
| Technique: | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions: | 91 × 206 cm |
| Origin: | fond Karáskova galerie |
| Licence: | Free license |
