TRIPLE SELF-PORTRAIT

Norman ROCKWELL

    « Triple self-portrait » is an oil painting did by Norman Rockwell in 1960. It was on cover of the Saturday Evening Post, an american magazine, the thirteen of frebruary 1960. It represent Norman Rockwell who was painting a self-portrait.

     The scene takes place in Norman workshop, there is only him, the painting is very realistic. In the middle there is Norman Rockwell who is sitting on a stool, he is leaning for look at his reflexion in the mirror which is at his left. Norman is wearing a blue shirt, a white pantalon, round glasses and he is smoking a pipe. He is having a paint paddle in his left hand, with his right hand he is painting the self-portrait. The mirror is very beautiful and clean, the contour is golden and above there is an eagle with an american badge. The mirror is putting on a chair, and there is also a book and a glass with a purple liquid. In front of Norman there is his painting, it represent Norman but he his looking at younger than in the mirror, he is having his pipe, it is in black and white. On the easel there is a golden helmet, on the left there are drafts and on the right there are other self-portrait, like picasso and Van Gogh self-portraits. In the bottom right-hand corner there is a bucket with paper wich burn, because we can see smoke. The picture is illumated because Norman used light colours.

     Certainly Norman admired Picasso, Van Gogh, Dürer and Rembrandt because he wanted to do like them. The painting is representing Norman younger than reality, maybe he wants to be like this or he wants the public see him like on the painting. The dominants colours are blue, red, white, the american flag’s colours and the golden, a noble colour. There are some details like the helmet, the bucket, the glass or his pipe but I can’t describe their meanings.

     I like this painting because it is very realistic, it is original and it is illumated so we want to look the painting.