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Raphael Soyer , (Dec 25, 1899–Nov 4, 1987)

Self Portrait

1933
13 1/4 in. x 9 3/4 in. (33.66 cm x 24.77 cm)

Medium and Support: lithograph on wove paper

Credit Line: museum purchase

Accession Number: 1935.54

Commentary

Soyer's most frequent model was himself. His series of self-portraits records his own physiognomic changes from youth to old age. Inthe 1933lithographic Self Portrait, one sees the artist's fascination with light as an aesthetic element. Seyer utilized the medium's capacity to render strong contrasts of light and dark, as well as a range of gray tones in order to solidly model three-dimensional form. Inthis composition, the significance of being an artist to Seyer's identity is emphasized by the depiction of a canvas at the left. It is probable that after Seyer drew his Self-Portrait onto a lithographic stone, it was printed by Jack Friedland, who printed most of Seyer's lithographs in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Design in Painting and Sculpture Addison Gallery of American Art , 1/5/1938 - 2/13/1938
Masterworks from the Collection: 50th Anniversary Exhibition Addison Gallery of American Art , 5/9/1981 - 6/14/1981
Heads II: Heads: an exhibit which explores some of the many ways the human head Addison Gallery of American Art , 9/18/1981 - 10/25/1981
Faces of the Addison: Portraits from the Collection Addison Gallery of American Art , 4/23/1994 - 7/31/1994

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