Sven Berlin (1911-2000)

The present work was painted between 1938-1940 and is an important visual record of Berlin in his first year of residency in St Ives. In 1938, St Ives was a flourishing community of traditionalist artists. However, within a decade the St Ives School would be firmly seeded. In the present work we can observe how Sven's own approach to his work in St Ives was already taking shape. In Self-Portrait Sven demonstrates his early draughtmanship echoing Rembrandt and his superlative use of colour inspired by Japanese print artists.