Self-Portrait with Burning Cigarette by Edvard Munch

Emerging from a dense and theatrical darkness, this psychological study focuses on the mystery of creation and the inner turmoil of the artist creator. The painter deploys a radical approach to chiaroscuro, capturing his own image with a dramatic intensity specific to the style of Edvard Munch. This masterful painting, bearing the title of “Self-Portrait with Burning Cigarette”, directly confronts the viewer with a piercing gaze that seems to probe the depths of consciousness.

The bust of the man emerges from a dark and vaporous background with shades of dark brown, purple, and opaque black. His pale face with fine features, marked by a dark moustache, is illuminated from the front by a pale and spectral glow that accentuates the fixity of his wide eyes. With his right hand raised to chest level, he delicately holds a lit cigarette from which rises a bluish and diffuse smoke that fades into the shadow. He is dressed in a black jacket and a white shirt with an open collar, creating a strong chromatic contrast in the center of the vertical composition.

The artisan’s technical virtuosity is fully expressed in this subtle management of slanting light and blurred contours uniting the body to the darkness. His mastery of oil painting offers a textured rendering of absolute dramatic poetry, affirming an exceptional psychological realism.