oil on canvas, erti 90×69
signed upper right U. Conti
This Self-Portrait was executed after his appendicitis operation in the summer of 1915 in Viareggio. It is a magnificent example of the application of the fauve lesson. To the awareness of himself as an artist, already noted in the previous self-portraits, he adds, in this case, that of representative of a trend in which, at the moment, he is among the very few in Italy. In the robe stripes, the brushstroke channels confidently, vertically pacing the composition, which is perfectly calibrated thanks to the window frame in which the figure camps proudly. The shadows on the face, however, have not lost the secessionist hooping where, instead of slipping, the eye gets caught as if in the turgidity of tiny gems. Contian Fauvism does not shy away from psychological notation, which finds support in the dialectic of light and shadow.
