Gustave Courbet’s self-portrait “The Desperate Man” is one of my most favorite artist self-portraits. This kind of self-portrait is today known as psychological portrait. However back in 1844-45 when Courbet painted it there was no tradition of such kind preceding it! Portraits and self-portraits were formally composed and contrived to capture the appearance of the individual and not the essence. Basically the way that is today considered standard and conventional. “The Desperate Man” however defied all rules and conventions by going beyond the face and surface of its creator and thereby showing us a side of his existence that we would have never seen otherwise!
