Henri Gaudier-Brzeska was a very prolific draughtsman: he sketched restlessly in drawing classes, museums, parks and the streets of London. Portraiture and self-portraiture were one of his preferred genres for technical experimentation throughout his brief career. At the time he made the Self-Portrait with a Pipe which is one of three sketches (1913), Gaudier was exploring Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Futurism and Cubism. These portraits offer a fascinating insight into the progressive transformation from a naturalistic to an almost Cubist image. In the portraits Gaudier self-consciously announces himself as an avant-garde artist, an indication of his increasing confidence and ambition by 1913. His bowler hat, at a jaunty angle, and pipe clenched between his teeth display his contempt for the \u201cbloody bourgeois\u201d of late Edwardian society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska was a very prolific draughtsman: he sketched restlessly in drawing classes, museums, parks and the streets of London. Portraiture and self-portraiture were one of his preferred genres for technical experimentation throughout his brief career. At the time he made the Self-Portrait with a Pipe which is one of three sketches (1913), Gaudier was … Continue reading Self-Portrait with a Pipe (2)<\/span>