Self-Portrait (1986)

National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (the USA).

Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas.

Many art connoisseurs and critics agree that Warhol’s most successful artworks were self-portraits. In this late work, the author focused on the head and the wig (it is known that Andy, who had become bald early, wore wigs for many years). The images are repeated, but each following is slightly different from the previous one. The master created the illusion of the movement of his life. The special use of shadow and light makes the image dramatic or even tragic, suffering. It is easy to understand this, knowing the biography of the artist and his desire to make art massive, accessible and “talking” about the problems of society. Moreover, by the time this work was created, the author’s name had been already in full compliance with the status of a “superstar”.