Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Self-Portrait (for "The New Yorker" Profile)

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Self-Portrait (for "The New Yorker" Profile)

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Artist

Robert Rauschenberg (Milton Ernest Rauschenberg) (Port Arthur, Texas, 10/22/1925 - 5/12/2008, Lee County, Florida)

Title

Self-Portrait (for "The New Yorker" Profile)

Creation Date

1964

Century

mid-20th century

Dimensions

11 7/8 x 8 7/8 in. (30 x 23 cm)

Object Type

drawing

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

ink and graphite on paper

Credit Line

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Robert Rauschenberg’s 1964 self-portrait pairing an ink thumbprint with his initials was created for a profile of the artist written by Calvin Tomkins for "The New Yorker" magazine in February 1964. Rauschenberg’s use of an indexical mark and reference to his name echo earlier works by Marcel Duchamp. The final frame of Duchamp’s 1926 film "Anémic Cinéma" features his thumbprint and the signature of his female pseudonym Rrose Sélavy. The criminal association of taking fingerprints also calls to mind Duchamp’s 1923 self-portrait "Wanted: $2,000 Reward", included in his "Boîte", on view in this exhibition. Likewise, in Rauschenberg’s "Self-Portrait", the convict association of the thumbprint connotes someone who breaks the rules.