Self-Portrait of Michael Sweerts Plus a Prehistoric Horse Head - Ozmo - 2016
🔹 Technique: Acrylic on PVC
🔹 Dimensions: 70 x 50 cm
🔹 Price: €4,200
🔹 Unique original work – Certificate of authenticity provided
In this striking composition , Self-Portrait of Michael Sweerts Plus a Prehistoric Horse Head , the artist skillfully fuses the artistic past with surrealist fantasy. Echoing the style of painter Michael Sweerts's Baroque self-portrait, the work introduces an intriguing visual disruption: in place of a human face, we see the head of a prehistoric horse, strangely placid and melancholic. This unexpected intersection of human and animal form raises questions about identity and metamorphosis.
The dramatic lighting, typical of 17th-century paintings, accentuates the folds of the black coat and the imposing shadow of the broad hat. Yet this gravity is subverted by the anomaly of the horse's head, with its bluish texture reminiscent of fossilized stone. The inclusion of this prehistoric creature in a classical artistic context establishes a surreal connection between the immortality of art and the eternity of nature.
In the figure's hand, a human skull is held reverently, a ubiquitous symbol of human vanity and mortality. This detail evokes memento mori, those visual reminders of the fragility of life, but here it is accentuated by the striking contrast with the permanence of the prehistoric world represented by the horse's head. The viewer is invited to contemplate the paradox of life and death, man and beast, past and present.
The stormy sky in the background and the raging sea add a dramatic and chaotic touch to the whole, amplifying the sense of confusion and mystery. This turbulent landscape seems to reflect the character's inner turmoil, caught between his humanity and an animalistic regression.
Self-Portrait of Michael Sweerts Plus a Prehistoric Horse Head is a bold exploration of identity, transformation, and temporality. With his unique blend of styles and eras, the artist invites us to deeply reflect on what it means to be human, while leaving a door open to the unknown and the imagination.
A work that defies time and categories, both familiar and resolutely original.
