Self-portrait in a mask

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: Shalva Amiranashvili National Museum of Fine Arts (Tbilisi, Georgia).

Concerning the idea of this painting, the artist wrote in her diary that anthropologist M. Gerasimov gifted her the book “Eternal Face” (posthumous masks). Opening it at random, Poret was struck by Napoleon’s angelic and serene face and the face of the preacher of peace and humility Luther, distorted by an evil grimace, standing nearby and contrasting with Napoleon. The artist painted self-portrait in a mask, using motives of a medieval strict red and black palette, emphasized by golden reflections and a technique close to pointillism. The deep background is ambiguous – symbolic silhouettes can be interpreted as images going to the creator and ready to appear on her canvas.