Audioguide by eArs


AUTORITRATTO (SELF-PORTRAIT) [1957]

Some people, when they start writing on a sheet of paper, realise towards the end of the sentence that they're running out of space. They then hurriedly adjust their handwriting to fit it all in. In this painting, and in other works by Ligabue, something similar likely occurred. In all his self-portraits, he always started with the eye, building the rest of the figure from there. During this process, perhaps realising too late that the space was insufficient, he improvised an original solution by distorting the elements in the lower part of the painting, like the legs and the stool.
In the lower part of the painting, the hand clutching a wine flask adds a playful tone to the overall composition. In these self-portraits, Ligabue not only bluntly displays his imperfections but often combines them with details or disguises that have an ironic and light-hearted air, such as in some portraits where he shows himself wearing different types of hats.