Skull with Pince-nez (Self-portrait as Skull)

Hlaváček’s lifelong fascination with his own face was related to the interest being taken at that time in the inner life of a human being, with many artists painting self-portraits. Most of his self-portraits from 1896–1897 are a variation on the same gaze of his dominant, mesmeric eyes. In some of them, the impression of concentration is reinforced by the insinuated figure of the subject, from which the drawn face stands out in greater detail, absorbing with its gaze the reality under observation (as if just formed). The duo of self-portraits with a pince-nez cast an ironic view on this hypnotic creative vision, with the empty eye sockets of one of the human skulls staring out at us.

Subject: Others
Author: Hlaváček, Karel
Title: Skull with Pince-nez (Self-portrait as Skull)
Date: 1896
Technique: ink on gray cardboard
Dimensions: 10,9 × 7,7 cm
Origin: Karásek Gallery fonds
Licence: Free license

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