Self-Portrait as a Heel, Part Two - Jean-Michel Basquiat
Archival giclée
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Description
A raw, expressive 1982 self-portrait by Jean-Michel Basquiat, featuring his signature mask-like imagery and integrated text against a bold green background.
Jean-Michel Basquiat created Self-Portrait as a Heel, Part Two in 1982, a period during which his output was prolific and his visual language reached a high level of maturity. The work features a central figure rendered in a raw, gestural manner against a flat, saturated green background. Basquiat employs his characteristic mix of oilstick and acrylic, creating a surface that feels immediate and unrefined. The figure is depicted with a mask-like face, a common motif in his work that draws upon diverse cultural references, including African sculpture and the history of modern art.
Textual elements are integrated directly into the composition, with the words 'BACK VIEW' and 'COMPOSITE' appearing in white lettering. These labels function as clinical or instructional markers, contrasting with the expressive, almost frantic application of paint. The inclusion of skeletal hands and anatomical references suggests a preoccupation with the physical body and its representation. The composition avoids traditional perspective, opting instead for a flattened, graphic quality that aligns with the artist's background in street art and graffiti.
Basquiat often used self-portraiture to explore themes of identity, fame, and the pressures of the art world. By titling the work 'Self-Portrait as a Heel', he adopts the persona of a villain or a rogue, a self-aware nod to his public image. The stark contrast between the black figure and the green ground creates a visual tension that is typical of his 1982 canvases. This piece demonstrates his ability to combine high-art concerns with a visceral, street-influenced aesthetic, resulting in a work that is both confrontational and deeply personal.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
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- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Self-Portrait as a Heel, Part Two - Jean-Michel Basquiat
Artist Biography
Jean Michel Basquiat
He had no formal art training. He dropped out of school at seventeen and slept on park benches and friends' floors. He sold hand-painted postcards and t-shirts. He gate-crashed a restaurant where the critic Henry Geldzahler was eating with Andy Warhol and handed them a postcard. Warhol bought one. The art world opened.
By twenty-one he was showing in galleries. By twenty-two he was the youngest artist ever invited to Documenta in Kassel. The paintings are dense, layered, furious: text fragments, anatomical drawings, crown symbols, crossed-out words, references to Black history, jazz, boxing, anatomy textbooks, and street signage. They look unplanned but they are not. The crossed-out words are deliberate. He wanted you to read them, then register the erasure.
He and Warhol collaborated on a series of paintings in 1984 and 1985. The relationship was complicated by the art market's tendency to treat Basquiat as Warhol's protege rather than his peer, and by the fact that Warhol, older and more established, got better reviews for the joint work. Basquiat pulled away.
He died of a heroin overdose in 1988, at twenty-seven. His paintings now sell for over 100 million dollars. He would have found that both satisfying and absurd.
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