Åberg was a student at Carl Wilhelmson’s school of painting in Stockholm and Valand in Gothenburg, and also made study trips abroad. Over several summers, he stayed in the area around Kullaberg, where his work included painted landscapes. In this self-portrait, however, the focus is not on the external. It is a mood painting in a melancholy key. Contrasting with the dark figure, whose face is in shadow, is a strong backlight from an arched opening behind him.