Self-Portrait, 22 August 1938
Gouache
In this self-portrait, painted at the age of fifteen, the young artist reveals his already highly developed skill at drawing, evident in the way that the stereometry of the head has been indicated so effectively with such simple means, as well as his utter self-confidence, visible in the brisk, impetuous application of the paint. Evidently executed in a single day, it shows the importance that – even at this stage in his career – Peter attached to the creative spontaneity that would remain a consistent feature of all his work.
