Untitled (Self-Portrait) (No. 4)

Francesco Clemente

(1981)

A pastel and gouache-on-paper drawing in which the artist stages a haunting encounter between a living face and a skeletal figure to probe mortality and inner identity.

The image hits you with its soft, smoky lines and surreal intimacy: a skull-headed torso lifts a cluster of grapes toward its mouth while a placid, open-eyed head is cradled below, all contained in a simple circular frame with sparse lettering at the edges.

Merging memento mori motifs with a personal, psychological gaze, the work connects Renaissance vanitas traditions to late 20th-century explorations of selfhood and helped reopen drawing and pastel as vehicles for intimate, symbolic inquiry.

Palette

Art Terms

Pastel Gouache Drawing Self-portrait Figurative Investigating identity Symbolism Contemporary art

Exhibitions

Francesco Clemente: The Departure of the Argonaut

1986

Timeless Aspects of Modern Art

1948

Second Floor Permanent Collection

1958

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Painting and Sculpture

1984