Arnold Schönberg: Self-Portrait. December 30, 1935
On December 25, 1935, Schönberg read in the Los Angeles Times about the death of his student Alban Berg. Several days later, Schönberg painted a black watercolor self-portrait, possibly as a gift of condolence for Berg’s widow Helene. Its perspective and manner of presentation are unequaled among Schönberg’s other paintings and drawings: The griever is profiled looking upward towards distant heights. Dated “Hollywood 30/XII. 1935” (it is possible that the place was specifically named to underline his situation in exile), this picture remained in the possession of the artist. His letter of condolence to Helene Berg on January 1, 1936, contains only a few words: “I still cannot believe that my dear Alban is gone. I still talk to him in my thoughts, as before, and imagine his answers, and it still seems to me as if he were only as far away as Europe is from America.”
