Analysis Of Sigmund Freud's Self Portrait With Death With A Violin
The Double
The similarities of a double blurs the line between two seemingly different figures. Originally a portrayal of the narcissistic mindset against the destruction of the ego, the double figure, Sigmund Freud believes, also carries a sense of uncanniness. From self-preservation of the past self, the definition of the double eventually expands to self-criticism and self-observance. The idea of peering into the deepest conscience of oneself is disturbing and uncomforting to man. Freud proposed the double as synonymous with terror for the ego is projected outward as an extraneous being reflecting oneself. Arnold Bocklin, in his painting, “Self Portrait with Death with a Violin,” illustrates an uncanny, skeleton double to himself in order …show more content…
A self-portrait, a narcissistic display of one’s ego, is disturbed by another image. Seemingly displaced at the first glance, Death’s characteristics are noticeably similar to Bocklin’s characteristics (possibly because Death is another form of portraying Bocklin). Consider the two left hands of Bocklin and Death. A man has two hands, yet the two hands within the paintings are not from one being. By including one hand of each figure, Bocklin is united with Death. The surrealistic fusion is eerie in the sense that this double possibly represents the hidden nature of Bocklin. By depicting the double as a creepy skeleton from the dead, the painting suggests that the hidden nature is one that is detrimental to Bocklin. Focusing on the two faces, the painting highlights the central hub of all thoughts – the brain. Shining in the light, the mirror image of the heads suggests a reflection of Bocklin’s inner consciousness. This could be a sign of contemplation and evaluation of Bocklin’s past self that is hollow and repulsive like the representation of the skeleton double. Mentally and physically bound to each other, an uncomforting comparison between the normal and the unseemly is
The similarities of a double blurs the line between two seemingly different figures. Originally a portrayal of the narcissistic mindset against the destruction of the ego, the double figure, Sigmund Freud believes, also carries a sense of uncanniness. From self-preservation of the past self, the definition of the double eventually expands to self-criticism and self-observance. The idea of peering into the deepest conscience of oneself is disturbing and uncomforting to man. Freud proposed the double as synonymous with terror for the ego is projected outward as an extraneous being reflecting oneself. Arnold Bocklin, in his painting, “Self Portrait with Death with a Violin,” illustrates an uncanny, skeleton double to himself in order …show more content…
A self-portrait, a narcissistic display of one’s ego, is disturbed by another image. Seemingly displaced at the first glance, Death’s characteristics are noticeably similar to Bocklin’s characteristics (possibly because Death is another form of portraying Bocklin). Consider the two left hands of Bocklin and Death. A man has two hands, yet the two hands within the paintings are not from one being. By including one hand of each figure, Bocklin is united with Death. The surrealistic fusion is eerie in the sense that this double possibly represents the hidden nature of Bocklin. By depicting the double as a creepy skeleton from the dead, the painting suggests that the hidden nature is one that is detrimental to Bocklin. Focusing on the two faces, the painting highlights the central hub of all thoughts – the brain. Shining in the light, the mirror image of the heads suggests a reflection of Bocklin’s inner consciousness. This could be a sign of contemplation and evaluation of Bocklin’s past self that is hollow and repulsive like the representation of the skeleton double. Mentally and physically bound to each other, an uncomforting comparison between the normal and the unseemly is