The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 13, 2026

Abstracted oil painting of a man with a black moustache and goatee wearing a brown cap and green coat and in front of a blue background. Thick black lines outline his features. His left eye is a slit of green, surrounded by a yellow that contrasts with the more muted oranges and greens that make up the rest of his face.

Self-Portrait with Hat

1919

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

(German, 1884–1976)
Germany, 20th century
oil on canvas
Framed: 84.8 x 76.8 x 6.4 cm (33 3/8 x 30 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.); Unframed: 73.3 x 65 cm (28 7/8 x 25 9/16 in.)
Bequest of Dr. William R. Valentiner 1965.440
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Location: 225 German Expressionism & Surrealism

Description

Schmidt-Rottluff painted this powerful self-portrait in Berlin, where he settled after being discharged from the army in World War I. The jarring colors reflect the artist's desire to project his inner, emotional self. The angular, geometric features reveal the influence of Cubism and African wood sculpture. Schmidt-Rottluff was a founding member of Die Brücke (The Bridge), a group of German Expressionists devoted to establishing a bridge between artists and society.
  • 1965
    Dr. William R. Valentiner [1880-1958], New York, NY, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1965-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 197 archive.org
    Henning, Edward B. “Two German Expressionist Paintings.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 55, no. 4 (April 1968): 95–102. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 95, 97, fig. 2 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 197 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Art of the Twentieth Century in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Dept. of Art History & Education, CMA, 1969. . Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 1 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 245 archive.org
    Henning, Edward B. “A Late Self-Portrait by Lovis Corinth.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 67, no. 9 (November 1980): 279–284. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 283, fig. 6 www.jstor.org
    Henning, Edward B. “Two New Cubist Paintings by Juan Gris and Pablo Picasso.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 68, no. 2 (February 1981): 39–50. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 41-43, fig. 10 www.jstor.org
    Michaud, Eric. Un art de l'éternité: l'image et le temps du national-socialisme. Paris, France: Gallimard, 1996. . Reproduced: p. 243, pl. 72
    Moeller, Magdalena M., Roman Zieglgänsberger, Janina Dahlmanns, P. Forster, Christiane Remm, and Roman Zieglgänsberger. Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Bild und Selbstbild. München, Germany: Hirmer, 2015. Reproduced: P. 48, abb. 27
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Masterworks on Loan: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Cleveland Museum of Art: July Through September 2016. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016. p. 21-25
    Lacis, Indra K. "Together and Apart: Karl Schmidt-Rottluff's Portrait of Emy and Self-Portrait with Hat." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 56, no. 5 (September/October 2016): 19. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 19 archive.org
  • Currents and Constellations: Black Art in Focus. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-June 26, 2022).
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).
    Utopia and Alienation: German Art and Expressionsim, 1900-1935. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (September 5-December 17, 1999).
    Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984).
    German and Austrian Expressionism, 1900 - 1920. Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN (organizer) (October 23-December 3, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=Self-Portrait with Hat|url=false|author=Karl Schmidt-Rottluff|year=1919|access-date=13 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1965.440