Self-Portrait, ca. 1918

Chaïm Soutine, Russian, active in France, 1893–1943

Self-Portrait, ca. 1918

Oil on canvas
The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, on long-term loan to the Princeton University Art Museum
© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
photo: Bruce M. White

Chaïm Soutine’s work was the catalyst for Pearlman’s collecting, and he ultimately acquired a group of the artist’s works that covered the full range of his subjects: still-life, landscape, and figure painting, including this rare Soutine self-portrait. The artist created just three in his lifetime, all between 1918 and 1923. The others generally have darker tonalities and depict the artist without any of the tools of his craft. This portrait is unique as he has chosen to depict himself before an easel, eyes locked on his subject, poised to put brush to canvas.

Chaïm Soutine, Russian, active in France, 1893–1943. <em>Self Portrait by Curtain</em>,  ca.1917. Oil on canvas. Private Collection / © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Chaïm Soutine, Russian, active in France, 1893–1943. <em>Self Portrait with Beard</em>,  ca.1917. Oil on canvas. Private Collection / © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris