Amelia Peláez Autorretrato (Self-Portrait) 1935
Amelia Peláez belongs to the first generation of modernist artists, known as la vanguardia, who rebelled against the antiquated art training practices of La Academia de San Alejandro in Havana, Cuba. Peláez studied with Russian Constructivist Alexandra Exter while living in France from 1927 to 1934, and developed a distinct pictorial language that expressed Cuban themes informed by the contemporaneous artistic movements of the early twentieth century.
Upon her return to Cuba, Peláez worked mainly in drawing, developing stylistic and thematic characteristics that would define her mature work. Autorretrato is an exemplary work from a period of Pelaez’s early maturity, displaying key elements of her singular visual repertoire: the two-toned tiled floor shown in the lower right hand corner, the representation of a still life as amorphous forms pushed up against the front of the picture plane; the transparency of intricate layers made the more effective in rich tonality through the use of pencil on paper.
Identification
Title
Autorretrato (Self-Portrait)
Production Date
1935
Object Number
2012.79
Credit Line
Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, gift of Jorge M. Pérez
Copyright
© Amelia Peláez
https://www.pamm.org/en/artwork/2012.79
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Physical Qualities
Medium
Graphite on paper on board
Dimensions
21 1/2 x 27 1/8 inches
Visual Description
Autorretrato (Self-Portrait) by Amelia Peláez is a painting from 1935. It is made of graphite on paper on board. It measures twenty-two inches tall by twenty-seven inches wide and is hung in landscape orientation, meaning its longest side runs parallel to the ground.
The painting depicts an abstract self-portrait of the artist. The painting is also monochromatic, meaning it is made with one color and varying tones of that color. Being graphite, the grey to black tones of the material contrast against the buff color of the board.
The central figure appears faceless with curled hair and a pointy hat. Their body is bulbous and they are wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a low collar. Their right arm is outstretched toward the viewer and placed on a round table that is in front of them. On the table there are abstract depictions of what appear to be fruits. The fruits are laid out across the entirety of the table. The left side of the composition is dominated by a large abstract shape that is made of lines that appear to swirl into a cylindrical shape almost like a curtain being blown by the wind. Behind the figure the walls of the space they are in are mostly empty. A small cloud-like shape hovers behind the figure and to the right a series of vertical shapes resembling a plant rest on a circular base. The bottom right-hand side of the painting houses a view of the floor of the space which is made of a checkerboard pattern. The entire painting is made with shades of grey, white, and black.
