Self-Portrait with Brushes

Self-Portrait with Brushes by Edvard Munch from 1904, held at the Munch Museum, shows the artist in a working pose, holding his paintbrushes — an assertion of professional identity and artistic authority. Self-portraiture was central to Munch's practice throughout his career, and this work painted at age 41 captures him at the height of his international fame, following the success of his 1902 Berlin exhibition and his patronage relationships with the Linde family and other German collectors. Holding his brushes — the tools of his trade — Munch presents himself without the psychological intensity of his earlier self-portraits, more as a working professional than as a Symbolist seer.

Munch depicts himself with his characteristic directness, using his established technique of strong contour and simplified modeling to render his own features. The brushes function both as compositional elements and as symbolic attributes, held with a matter-of-fact confidence that reflects his self-presentation at this phase of his career.