
Self-Portrait
1910 · Oil on canvas
61.9 × 39.7 cm (24 3/8 × 15 5/8 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago

Boris Anisfeld was a Russian-American painter whose Symbolist stage designs defined an aesthetic for early twentieth-century theater. Working primarily in oil and gouache, he created dreamlike sets and costume designs that merged painterly abstraction with dramatic narrative, influencing the visual language of European and American modernist theater. His work balanced geometric form with expressive color and mythological subject matter, establishing him as a key figure in the intersection of fine art and performance design during the Symbolist period.
Source: Aic · Trust score: 95% · Updated 17d ago