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Self Portrait

© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Ruth Borchard Collection

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Notes

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Of his portrait for Borchard, Herbert says ‘I really did think she wanted an “early” portrait so I may have tried to make myself look younger but I was about 34 and I made an attempt to make the picture look old and battered’. For those aware only of Herbert’s later ‘religious’ paintings, the artist’s self portrait may not seem recognisably his. Yet all his work seems rooted in a mystical search for identity. Herbert appears as a young man still coming to terms with himself and the world. Though he peers straight at us, his look is hesitant and elusive. The picture’s conservative palette contains moving nuances of colour and tone. Light reflections on Herbert’s face propel us to the dazzling right backdrop. The darker facial tones relate to the dark backdrop to the left.

The Ruth Borchard Collection

Title

Self Portrait

Date

c.1959

Medium

oil on board

Measurements

H 51 x W 42 cm

Accession number

PCF55

Acquisition method

acquired by Ruth Borchard as part of the original collection

Work type

Painting

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The Ruth Borchard Collection

Greater London England

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