Alma Mahler and the Doll: the Story Behind Kokoschka’s Self-Portrait
After Alma Mahler ended their relationship in 1915, Oskar Kokoschka commissioned a life-sized doll made in her image. The episode led to several paintings, including Self-Portrait with Doll (1920).
Last updated 30 September 2026
Alma Mahler and Kokoschka
Alma Mahler was the widow of the composer Gustav Mahler. Between 1912 and 1915 she and Kokoschka lived a passionate and stormy relationship, which produced his large canvas The Bride of the Wind (1913–1914). When the relationship ended, Kokoschka, who had been wounded in the First World War, remained obsessively attached to her.
The life-sized doll
In 1918 Kokoschka commissioned the Munich dollmaker Hermine Moos to make a life-sized doll in Alma Mahler’s image, sending detailed instructions. The doll arrived in 1919. He took it into his daily life and used it as a model, and it appears in his painting Woman in Blue (1919) and in Self-Portrait with Doll. He reportedly ended the doll’s existence at a party, a gesture often read as a symbolic farewell to Alma.
What the painting tells us
Self-Portrait with Doll is less a portrait than an account of a fractured emotional world: longing, delusion, control and isolation. Read the full analysis on the page of the painting.
The paintings
- Self-Portrait with a Cigarette (1935–1936)
- Self-Portrait with Doll (1920)
- Portrait of Konrad Adenauer (1966)
Frequently asked questions
Who was the doll modelled on?
The doll was modelled on Alma Mahler, widow of the composer Gustav Mahler and Kokoschka’s lover from 1912 to 1915.
Who made Kokoschka’s doll?
The Munich dollmaker Hermine Moos made it in 1918–1919, following Kokoschka’s detailed instructions.
Which paintings show the doll?
The doll appears in Woman in Blue (1919) and in Self-Portrait with Doll (1920).