The painters of the Bergen School lived or worked near the village of Bergen in North Holland between 1915 and 1925. They borrowed elements from both Cubism and Expressionism, albeit in a moderate form. The style, often in a dark colour palette, is also called Cubo-Expressionism.
When Wim Schuhmach
...er (1894-1986) painted this self-portrait, he was visibly influenced by Cubo-Expressionism. The artist considered expressing ‘inner life’ through painting as his destiny. The dark, sombre colours of this self-portrait betray Schuhmacher’s affinity with Bergen School painters. Together with the artist’s characteristically serious gaze, they give the canvas a pall of melancholy.
Text: Myrthe Wesseling, guide and museum host