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The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani

Catalogue entry

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Photo: Studio Sebert; © FdDPS
Series
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Classification: Painting
Theme: figurative
Medium: Oil
Support: On canvas
Year: 1914
PS 109
Self-Portrait with White Glove
Alternate title: Autoportrait aux gants blancs
1914–16
Oil on canvas
34 7/8 x 33 1/8 in. (88.5 x 84 cm)
Neither signed, nor dated
On the back: a metal plate: Lottie Urban on the frame center left.
Inventories
Inv. Leteneur, n.d. [1977], n.p., s.n., private archives: no. [95]: p. [9], palier - salon: Smit Philippe - 'Autoportrait'/ Toile, 88 x 84 [cm].
Exhibitions
1916 Larensche Kunsthandel
Larensche Kunsthandel, Amsterdam, Tentoonstelling Philippe Smit, April 01–30, 1916, ? (see Handelsblad 1916b and Zelling 1916).
2000 Noyers-sur-Serein
Musée municipal, Noyers-sur-Serein, Yonne, France, Le Mystère Philippe Smit 1886 - 1948, April 01–November 30, 2000, as Autoportrait aux gants blancs.
Literature & Primary Sources
Zelling 1916
Zelling, Anton. "Philippe Smit." De Hofstad, 15-04-1916, p. 2 ("… nog een zelfportret een den toeschouwer terzijde afgewend gelaat …").
Handelsblad 1916b
M. V. "Kunst: Larensche Kunsthandel." Algemeen Handelsblad (Amsterdam), 04-04-1916, p. 6 ("… een tweede beeltenis van den schilder …").
Notes

Smit represents himself from the waist up, his head turned to the right, his piercing and almost haughty gaze fixes the spectator. He is set against a yellow-green-white background with simple and large vertical brush strokes. Nothing should distract from his assertive pose and self-confident attitude. Careful of his appearance, he is dressed in black tie, holding in his right hand a white glove, which gives the work its title.
Smit painted this self-portrait during his stay in the Netherlands during the First World War. Housed in Amsterdam by his friends and benefactors the Urbans, he is now sheltered and has escaped the meager existence he led in France.  In this portrait, presented at the painter's very first exhibition at the Larensche Kunsthandel in Amsterdam in 1916, he stages, not without pride, his social ascent. Nothing identifies his occupation. This reading of the painting is corroborated by his letter to his friend René Massé, in which, alluding to his situation, he writes: "Here I am more than cared for, I have the life of a prince."1

1. Philippe Smit, ALS to René Massé, 13 April 1914 ("Je suis ici plus que soigné, j’ai une vie de prince." (private archives, Paris))

Record last updated April 21, 2020. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "Self-Portrait with White Glove, 1914–16 (PS 109)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=109 (accessed on May 10, 2025).