ABOUT THE WORK

This intricate self-portrait reveals the elements that have made Barrioquinto one of the most sought-after artists of his generation — and beyond. It reflects the raw intellectual fervor that is the foundation of all of his works: a searing commentary not just of the life of an artist but the world that he inhabits. Drawn from the pivotal and influential Scream of the Butterfly exhibition, it is one of a handful of works that use Barrioquinto’s signature shaped canvas-on-canvas technique. Less than a dozen are known to have been painted. Here, the head of a wolf is combined with the body of a child that burns with the heart of a god. Blinded consciously, perhaps by self-awareness, he is nevertheless wreathed in a glorious bouquet of gorgeous flowers in full bloom, a symbol of both triumph and accolades. It is both worldly and other-worldly, portraying the contrast between fantasy and vivid hyper-reality that set the themes of Barrioquinto’s works. In it one sees unmistakably the deliberate, masterful hand of Barrioquinto himself, before the age of his Mediciesque atelier. Futile Displeasure (Self-Portrait) thus reflects on the irresistibility of happiness and good fortune and would have been a wonderful part of Vasari’s Corridor at the Uffizi of the most famous painters of the Italian Renaissance.