In this double self-portrait, the artist paints himself in the very act of self-depiction. It is a premeditatedly realised game of opposing times between the two artistic worlds in which the artist moved: drawing and painting. The former is clearly reinforced, since the painted portrait is here the moment of passage and the drawing, refined in rigour and synthesis, the final work.
This is a highly particular work that José Tagarro produced towards the end of his life and which was, in fact, prematurely interrupted. Considered one of the most revealing of how the artist understood his own production and career, it is one of the most striking self-portraits in Portuguese art.