Approximately forty self-portraits constitute one of the focal points of Helene Schjerfbeck’s oeuvre. The paintings show the development of a young woman into a self-confident and successful artist.
Patches of black suggest eye sockets. Her face is gaunt, pallid, and outlined in black by rough brushstrokes. Her mouth is somewhat reminiscent of the figure in Edvard Munch's "The Scream"--it, too, has frozen into a circular gape. It is the last self-portrait by Helene Schjerfbeck. The Finnish artist painted it in 1945 and subtitled it "An Old Painter." She is already over eighty, and death is near. The painting conveys something of the struggle between her body and her mind.
The new currents in a world of art
Schjerfbeck created about forty self-portraits in the course of her life. Other female painters also frequently painted themselves around the turn of the century, for practical reasons as well: unlike their male counterparts, female painters were rarely commissioned to paint portraits. Consequently, they had little money to pay models to sit for them and so did not hesitate to use their own faces as a motif. Free of commercial constraints, self-portraits became spaces for artistic development. Those by Schjeferbeck recall the artist's entire life and provide insight into the brilliant development of her very own manner of expression, beginning with experiments with form and color inspired by the new currents in a world of art that experienced one of the most radical changes in its history during her lifetime.
Several of the self-portraits produced in the nineteenth century feature the young artist as a self-confident woman with rosy cheeks. In about 1884/85 she painted herself in oil. The shiny hair of her bangs hangs loosely over her forehead. A youthful smile plays around the corners of her mouth. The artist's blue eyes gaze pensively into space. Brushstroke and chromaticity are reminiscent of portraits by the Impressionists.
In 1912, Schjeferbeck sees herself in a completely different light. Her cheeks are now prominently tinged with a pale pinkish-violet color. Bluish-green shadows accentuate her face. A complementary shade of ochre applied to the background with a loose stroke of the brush emphasizes the figure and plays around her face. Her eyebrows are raised, her eyes wide open. Schjerfbeck is apparently eager to experiment and acquires more and more self-confidence as an artist. She signs her paintings in a particularly striking way.
Schjerfbeck increasingly breaks away from a naturalist style of painting. In 1915 she paints her "Self-Portrait with Silver Background," committing it to paper in watercolor, charcoal, pencil, and silver leaf. Her gaze is self-assured; she proudly lifts her chin. Silver leaf surrounds her head; the depiction recalls an icon. Her skin is pale; her eyes are dull. The artist appears as an ephemeral figure. What is quite noticeable here is the influence of Art Nouveau. Schjerfbeck works with surfaces and lines, and largely dispenses with illusionist means. Male painters primarily govern Art Nouveau painting, making delicate female figures their subject. Against this background, Schjerfbeck's self-portrait becomes an emancipatory act.
In the ensuing years, the artist's self-portraits become more and more simplified, wraithlike, monochrome. Schjerfbeck is no longer concerned with likeness but with expression. One extraordinary example of her art of painting is "Self-Portrait with Palette I" from 1937. The figure and the background are painted in matte shades of gray and green. The outline of her face is exaggerated, the corners of her mouth turn downward, her eyes roll to the right. Shadows play around her body. Schjerfbeck looks as if she is making an appearance in an Expressionist film. Only three patches of color in blue, white, and yellow suggest the palette referred to in the painting's title.
While Schjerfbeck initially still depicted herself in almost a clichéd manner, in her late oeuvre she veered far from any ideals of beauty. She produced a large number of self-portraits in the thirties and early forties that show her with a gaunt face and a gaping mouth. She uses black in a dramatic and psychologizing way. At a time in which feminist movements and a new self-image of women are gradually paving the way for emancipation in Europe, her self-portraits can also be understood as statements by a successful professional artist.