Self-Portrait

For Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, photography was an intimate affair. Known primarily as a writer, painter, and art theorist, Witkiewicz created portraits of himself and his close acquaintances as private experiments. They were not publicly exhibited until decades after his death. In this self-portrait, Witkiewicz’s moody approach privileges psy-chological intensity over physical description. Although the glowing lamp—the only part of the image in sharp focus— casts the left half of his face into shadow, Witkiewicz’s forceful gaze commands attention. Its intensity charges the portrait with nervous energy, conveying something of the turbulence of the artist’s personality.