Self-portrait with cigarette

The 1871 self-portrait with cigarette, painted in oil on canvas, exemplifies Feuerbach's neoclassical style and his fascination with idealized representation even in personal imagery. Depicting the artist at age twenty-seven, the work presents a composed, almost sculptural self-image framed by a cigarette, a subtle symbol of modernity that contrasts with classical conventions. It belongs to a pivotal period in Feuerbach's career when he was transitioning from academic training in Rome to a mature synthesis of mythological subjects and introspective portraiture, reflecting broader 19th-century tensions between academic tradition and emerging naturalism.

The painting's formal precision and psychological restraint influenced contemporaries in the Vienna art world, where it was received as both a technical achievement and a statement of artistic identity. Today it remains a key reference point for understanding Feuerbach's role in bridging 19th-century academic art and the symbolic turn in fin-de-siècle portraiture.

The painting has been widely reproduced in art history texts and cited in studies of 19th-century self-portraiture, influencing later artists' approaches to intimate self-representation. It remains part of the Belvedere's collection in Vienna and is frequently referenced in exhibitions on Feuerbach's legacy.

Anselm Feuerbach’s Self‑portrait with cigarette is an oil painting completed in 1871. Executed during the later phase of his career, the work presents the artist himself in a restrained, three‑dimensional manner. The canvas belongs to the collection of Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it is displayed among other 19th‑century European works.

The portrait shows Feuerbach with dark hair, a solemn gaze, and a white shirt accented by a dark bow tie. He holds a lit cigarette, an unusual prop for a formal self‑portrait of the era, suggesting a personal, perhaps introspective moment that contrasts with his usual classical subjects.