After World War II, Gabrijel Stupica developed a unique painting style and iconography. While in his Zagreb period his works were still quite realist, his postwar explorations led him to an increasing stylization of forms. Characteristic already of his Zagreb period, his somber earth tones became the basis for his postwar “dark period” (e.g., Self-Portrait with Daughter, 1956). Around 1958 his color palette became brighter, leading to his “light period” that represents the peak of his creative output of the 1960s and 1970s. His most typical motifs took final shape at this time: the artist’s studio, the female figure (e.g., the girl Flora), and the self-portrait. The latter would go on to play a crucial role in Stupica’s art – according to the artist, it was knowing his own face that allowed him to experiment the most.

His Self-Portrait from that period reflects his radical explorations of the painterly surface and of the form. The image of the artist is flat and deformed: the long legs, broad shoulders, and childishly rendered hands seem disproportionate, while the face is deformed and resembles a mask. This mask symbolizes the artist’s insecurity and doubt, at the same time protecting him from the external world and its pressures.

A particular feature of this painting is the artist’s experimentation with the materiality of the surface. Stupica used collaged strips of a striped fabric, gluing them onto the carelessly painted clothes. This element is in stark contrast to the painstakingly and laboriously painted newspaper clippings, bills, and other fragmentary documents. By including such mundane elements in his art, the painter subverted the traditional status of a painting as an exalted, almost sacrosanct artistic medium.