Art is the Solution

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post entitled The Craziest Self-Portraits of all Time , in which I described some of the more unusual self-portraits I have encountered during my studies of art. I had a lot of fun with that post, so, today, I want to share a few more crazy self-portraits. Let’s dive in! Pumpkinhead Self Portrait by Jamie Wyeth - Jamie Wyeth is a member of the famous Wyeth family, and is the son and grandson respectively of celebrated painters Andrew Wyeth and N.C. Wyeth. Although he’s probably not as well known as his relatives, he’s certainly a famous and talented painter in his own right. One of his most famous and strangest paintings is his Pumpkinhead Self Portrait . In this painting, Wyeth removes himself from his own self portrait, a somewhat self deprecating gesture that invites the viewer to examine the work as a painting, not as an image of its creator. Alternatively, it might just be that the Wyeth family like Halloween. According to my research, “the Wyeths ...

Self-Portrait with Magic Scene Source: Google Arts & Culture Happy October to all the art lovers out there! It is now October first, or, as I like to call it, the start of spooky season. Throughout October, I plan to bring you a selection of the creepiest, weirdest, most disturbing, and overall spooky pieces of art in the Western canon. To kick off October, I want to share one of the weirdest and most dramatic self-portraits I’ve ever seen: Self-Portrait with Magic Scene by Pieter van Laer. I had the privilege of seeing this painting in the MET Museum in New York City (although, I don’t think it usually resides there), and I had to stare at this painting for at least four minutes before I understood what I was looking at. The painting depicts the artist in the guise of a sorcerer, surrounded by alchemical instruments. His mouth hangs open in a scream of fear, while the scarlet claws of a demon or devil reach out towards him from outside of the frame. Presumably, the sorcerer has s...