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A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting themselves as either the main subject, or as important characters in their work. With better and cheaper mirrors, and the advent of the
panel Panel may refer to: Arts and media Visual arts * Panel (comics), a single image in a comic book, comic strip or cartoon; also, a comic strip containing one such image *Panel painting, in art, either one element of a multi-element piece of art ...
portrait, many painters, sculptors and printmakers tried some form of self-portraiture. '' Portrait of a Man in a Turban'' by
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
of 1433 may well be the earliest known panel self-portrait. He painted a separate portrait of his wife, and he belonged to the social group that had begun to commission portraits, already more common among wealthy Netherlanders than south of the Alps. The genre is venerable, but not until the Renaissance, with increased wealth and interest in the individual as a subject, did it become truly popular.accessed online July 28, 2007 an online history of self-portraits, various excerpts from Edward Lucie-Smith and Sean Kelly, ''The Self Portrait: A Modern View'' (London: Sarema Press, 1987)
By the
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period, most artists with an established reputation at least left drawings of themselves. Printed portraits of artists had a market, and many were self-portraits. They were also sometimes given as gifts to family and friends. If nothing else, they avoided the need to arrange for a model, and for the many professional portrait-painters, a self-portrait kept in the studio acted as a demonstration of the artist's skill for potential new clients. The unprecedented number of
self-portraits by Rembrandt The dozens of self-portraits by Rembrandt were an important part of his oeuvre. Rembrandt created approaching one hundred self-portraits including over forty paintings, thirty-one etchings and about seven drawings; some remain uncertain as to ...
, both as paintings and prints, made clear the potential of the form, and must have further encouraged the trend.


Types

A self-portrait may be a portrait of the artist, or a portrait included in a larger work, including a group portrait. Many painters are said to have included depictions of specific individuals, including themselves, in painting figures in religious or other types of composition. Such paintings were not intended publicly to depict the actual persons as themselves, but the facts would have been known at the time to artist and patron, creating a talking point as well as a public test of the artist's skill. In the earliest surviving examples of medieval and Renaissance self-portraiture, historical or mythical scenes (from the Bible or
classical literature Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
) were depicted using a number of actual persons as models, often including the artist, giving the work a multiple function as portraiture, self-portraiture and history/myth painting. In these works, the artist usually appears as a face in the crowd or group, often towards the edges or corner of the work and behind the main participants.
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
's ''The Four Philosophers'' (1611–12) is a good example. This culminated in the 17th century with the work of Jan de Bray. Many artistic media have been used; apart from paintings, drawings and
prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserve ...
have been especially important. In the famous ''
Arnolfini Portrait ''The Arnolfini Portrait'' (or ''The Arnolfini Wedding'', ''The Arnolfini Marriage'', the ''Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife'', or other titles) is a 1434 oil painting on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It fo ...
'' (1434),
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
is probably one of two figures glimpsed in a mirror – a surprisingly modern conceit. The Van Eyck painting may have inspired
Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...
to depict himself in full view as the painter creating '' Las Meninas'' (1656), as the Van Eyck hung in the palace in Madrid where he worked. This was another modern flourish, given that he appears as the painter (previously unseen in official royal portraiture) and standing close to the King's family group who were the supposed main subjects of the painting. In what may be one of the earliest childhood self-portraits now surviving,
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
depicts himself as in naturalistic style as a 13-year-old boy in 1484. In later years he appears variously as a merchant in the background of
Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
scenes and as Christ. Leonardo da Vinci may have drawn a picture of himself at the age of 60, in around 1512. The picture is often straightforwardly reproduced as Da Vinci's appearance, although this is not certain. In the 17th century,
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
painted a range of self-portraits. In '' The Prodigal Son in the Tavern'' (c1637), one of the earliest self-portraits with family, the painting probably includes Saskia, Rembrandt's wife, one of the earliest depictions of a family member by a famous artist. Family and professional group paintings, including the artist's depiction, became increasingly common from the 17th century on. From the later 20th century on, video plays an increasing part in self-portraiture, and adds the dimension of audio as well, allowing the person to speak to an audience in their own voice.


Gallery: Inserted self-portraits

Image:Botticelli - Adoration of the Magi (Zanobi Altar) - Uffizi.jpg, Sandro Botticelli's 1475 painting of the '' Adoration of the Magi'' has an "inserted self-portrait". The position in the (right) corner, and the gaze out to the viewer, are very typical of such self-portraits. Image:Masaccio Self Portrait.jpg,
Masaccio Masaccio (, , ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, ...
inserted self-portrait from the
Brancacci Chapel The Brancacci Chapel (in Italian language, Italian, "Cappella dei Brancacci") is a chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine di Firenze, Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, central Italy. It is sometimes called the "Sistine Chapel of the ...
frescoes (as is the Filippino Lippi), 1424–1426. Image:Resurrection detail.JPG, Piero della Francesca as a sleeping soldier in his ''Resurrection'', 1463, fresco, Sansepolcro. Image:Filippino Lippi 007.jpg, Filippino Lippi as a figure in his ''Martyrdom of Saint Peter'',
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
, 1481–82,
Brancacci Chapel The Brancacci Chapel (in Italian language, Italian, "Cappella dei Brancacci") is a chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine di Firenze, Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, central Italy. It is sometimes called the "Sistine Chapel of the ...
, Florence. He is at the extreme right of a crowded composition.


Women painters

Women artists The absence of women from the canon of Western culture, Western Art history, art has been a subject of inquiry and reconsideration since the early 1970s. Linda Nochlin's influential 1971 essay, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?, Why ...
are notable producers of self-portraits; almost all significant women painters have left an example, from Caterina van Hemessen to the prolific
Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (s ...
, and
Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...
, as well as
Alice Neel Alice Neel (January 28, 1900 – October 13, 1984) was an American visual artist, who was known for her portraits depicting friends, family, lovers, poets, artists, and strangers. Her paintings have an expressionistic use of line and color, psyc ...
,
Paula Modersohn-Becker Paula Modersohn-Becker (8 February 1876 – 20 November 1907) was a German Expressionist painter of the late 19th and early 20th century. Her work is noted for its intensity and its blunt, unapologetic humanity, and for the many self-portraits the ...
and
Jenny Saville Jennifer Anne Saville (born 7 May 1970) is a contemporary British painter and an original member of the Young British Artists.Royal Academy of ArtsJenny Saville RA , Artist , Royal Academy of Arts accessdate: 29 August 2014 Saville works and ...
who painted themselves in the nude. Vigée-Lebrun painted a total of 37 self-portraits, many of which were copies of earlier ones, painted for sale. Until the 20th century women were usually unable to train in drawing the nude, which made it difficult for them to paint large figure compositions, leading many artists to specialize in portrait work. Women artists have historically embodied a number of roles within their self-portraiture. Most common is the artist at work, showing themselves in the act of painting, or at least holding a brush and palette. Often, the viewer wonders if the clothes worn were those they normally painted in, as the elaborate nature of many ensembles was an artistic choice to show her skill at fine detail. Image:Hemessen-Selbstbildnis.jpg, Caterina van Hemessen's 1548
self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...
, perhaps the oldest self-portrait of a female oil-painter, though much earlier examples of manuscript painters exist. Image:Self-portrait_at_the_Easel_Painting_a_Devotional_Panel_by_Sofonisba_Anguissola.jpg, Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1532–1625) of
Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...
served as court painter to
the Queen of Spain ''The Queen of Spain'' ( es, La reina de España, links=no) is a 2016 Spanish comedy-drama film written and directed by Fernando Trueba. Starring Penélope Cruz, Antonio Resines, Neus Asensi, Ana Belén, Javier Cámara, Chino Darín, Loles León, ...
, and painted several self-portraits and many images of her family. c. 1556 File:Self-portrait at the Clavichord with a Servant by Lavinia Fontana.jpg, Lavinia Fontana, ''Self-portrait at the Clavichord with a Servant'', 1577. She was born in Bologna, the daughter of Prospero Fontana, who was a painter of the School of Bologna. Image:Self-portrait as the Allegory of Painting (La Pittura) - Artemisia Gentileschi.jpg,
Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (, ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing profess ...
, ''
Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting ''Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting'', also known as ''Autoritratto in veste di Pittura'' or simply ''La Pittura'', was painted by the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. The oil-on-canvas painting measures and was probably pr ...
'', 1630s,
Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
. Note the pulled-up sleeve on the arm holding the brush. Image:Mary beale self portrait.JPG, Mary Beale, ''Self-portrait,'' c. 1675–1680, She became one of the most important portrait painters of 17th-century England, and has been described as the first professional female English painter. Image:Angelica Kauffmann 006.jpg,
Angelica Kauffman Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, K ...
, self-portrait, 1780–1785, a successful painter in her time, she was a great friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Image:Labille-Guiard, Self-portrait with two pupils.jpg, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1785, with two pupils. A "subjects-eye" view of the painter at work. It seems likely that women society portraitists did actually paint wearing fashionable clothes like this. Image:Self-portrait_in_a_Straw_Hat_by_Elisabeth-Louise_Vigée-Lebrun.jpg, Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun painted several self-portraits that were hugely successful in the
Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...
s, and was influential in pioneering an "informal" fashion style at the end of the
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
. At 22, 1782. Image:Villers Young Woman Drawing.jpg,
Marie-Denise Villers Marie-Denise Villers (''née'' Lemoine; 1774 – 19 August 1821) was a French Painting, painter who specialized in portraits. Life Marie-Denise Lemoine was born in Paris to Charles Lemoine and Marie-Anne Rouselle. Two of her three sisters, Marie ...
, ''Young Woman Drawing'', 1801, thought to be her ''self-portrait'', and her most famous and finest painting. Originally attributed to
Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
. Image:Marie Ellenrieder Selbstbildnis 1819.jpg,
Marie Ellenrieder Marie Ellenrieder (20 March 1791 – 5 June 1863) was a German painter known for her portraits and religious paintings. Life and career Ellenrieder was born in Konstanz, Germany in 1791, the daughter of Konrad and Anna Maria Herrmann, and ...
, ''self portrait'', 1819. A German religious artist and the first woman to enter the Academy of Munich. Image:Mary Cassatt-Selfportrait.jpg, Mary Cassatt was an American portrait painter who specialized in portraits of women and children, 1878. Image:Bashkirtseff.jpg, Marie Bashkirtseff ''self-portrait'', 1880 was a Russian born artist who died at twenty-five. A large number of Bashkirtseff's works were destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. Image:Gwen John - Self-Portrait.jpg, Gwen John (1902) also mostly painted women and children. File:Paula_Moderson-Becker_-_Selbstbildnis_am_6_Hochzeitstag_(1906).jpg,
Paula Modersohn-Becker Paula Modersohn-Becker (8 February 1876 – 20 November 1907) was a German Expressionist painter of the late 19th and early 20th century. Her work is noted for its intensity and its blunt, unapologetic humanity, and for the many self-portraits the ...
, '' Selbstbildnis am 6 Hochzeitstag'' ("Self-portrait on her 6th wedding anniversary") 1906. She depicts herself as pregnant, which at that point she never had been. File:Serebryakova SefPortrait.jpg, Zinaida Serebriakova, ''At the Dressing-Table'' (1909), was among the first female Russian painters of distinction. File:Ilka Gedő - Double Self-Portrait.jpg, Ilka Gedő, ''Double Self-Portrait'', 1985. The number of self-portraits on paper is about 370 and there are eight self-portraits in oil.


Antiquity

Images of artists at work are encountered in Ancient Egyptian painting, and sculpture and also on Ancient Greek vases. One of the first self-portraits was made by the Pharaoh Akhenaten's chief sculptor Bak in 1365 BC. Plutarch mentions that the Ancient Greek sculptor Phidias had included a likeness of himself in a number of characters in the "
Battle of the Amazons A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...
" on the Parthenon, and there are classical references to painted self-portraits, none of which have survived.


Asia

Self-portraits may have a longer continuous history in Asian (mainly Chinese) art than in Europe. Many in the scholar gentleman tradition are quite small, depicting the artist in a large landscape, illustrating a poem in
calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
on his experience of the scene. Another tradition, associated with Zen Buddhism, produced lively semi-caricatured self-portraits, whilst others remain closer to the conventions of the formal portrait. Image:Miyamoto_Musashi_Self-Portrait.jpg, Miyamoto Musashi, Samurai, writer and artist, c. 1640. Image:Hakuin Ekaku.jpg, Hakuin Ekaku was a Zen monk, who painted many self-portraits of himself as sages of the past, 1764, Tokyo. Image:Motoori Norinaga self portrait.jpg, Motoori Norinaga, late 18th century, Japan Image:Hokusai selfportrait.jpg,
Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the ...
, early 19th century, Japan Image:Hokusai as an old man.jpg, Another Hokusai, Smithsonian Image:Yosai-Kikuchi.jpg, Kikuchi Yōsai, 1856–7, Japan. Image:Chen hongshou selfportrait,1635.jpg, Chen Hongshou, China, 1635 Image:Ren Xiong Self Portrait.jpeg,
Ren Xiong Ren Xiong (; July 19, 1823 – November 23, 1857) was a Chinese painter from Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, active during the late Qing dynasty. Ren belonged to the Shanghai School in Chinese painting and is known for his bold and innovative style. His b ...
, a member of the Shanghai school, c.1850


European art

Illuminated manuscripts contain a number of apparent self-portraits, notably those of Saint
Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury, Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restor ...
and Matthew Paris. Most of these either show the artist at work, or presenting the finished book to either a donor or a sacred figure, or venerating such a figure.
Orcagna Andrea di Cione di Arcangelo (c. 1308 – 25 August 1368), better known as Orcagna, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect active in Florence. He worked as a consultant at the Florence Cathedral and supervised the construction of the fa ...
is believed to have painted himself as a figure in a
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
of 1359, which became, at least according to
art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
s — Vasari records a number of such traditions — a common practice of artists. However, for earlier artists, with no other portrait to compare to, these descriptions are necessarily rather speculative. Among the earliest self-portraits are also two frescos by
Johannes Aquila Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...
, one in
Velemér Velemér ( sl, Velemer) is a village in Vas county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Ro ...
(1378), western Hungary, and one in
Martjanci Martjanci (; hu, Mártonhely) is a village between Murska Sobota and Moravske Toplice in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia. It is known for its parish church dedicated to Martin of Tours, Saint Martin, from which the village gets its name. It is a ...
(1392), northeastern Slovenia. In Italy Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337) included himself in the cycle of "eminent men" in the Castle of Naples,
Masaccio Masaccio (, , ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, ...
(1401–1428) depicted himself as one of the
apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
in the painting of the
Brancacci Chapel The Brancacci Chapel (in Italian language, Italian, "Cappella dei Brancacci") is a chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine di Firenze, Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, central Italy. It is sometimes called the "Sistine Chapel of the ...
, and Benozzo Gozzoli includes himself, with other portraits, in the
Palazzo Medici The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence and a museum. Overview T ...
''Procession of the Magi'' (1459), with his name written on his hat. This is imitated a few years later by Sandro Botticelli, as a spectator of ''the Adoration of the Magi'' (1475), who turns from the scene to look at us. Fourteenth-century sculpted portrait busts of and by the Parler family in
Prague Cathedral , native_name_lang = Czech , image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...
include self-portraits, and are among the earliest such busts of non-royal figures.
Ghiberti Lorenzo Ghiberti (, , ; 1378 – 1 December 1455), born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery ...
included a small head of himself in his most famous work. Notably, the earliest self-portrait painted in England, other than in a manuscript, is the miniature painted in oils on panel by the German artist
Gerlach Flicke Gerlach Flicke ( fl. 1545 – 1558), Latin name Gerbarus Fleccius, anglicised in the 16th century as "Garlicke", was a German portrait painter who is known for his work in London as an artist of the Tudor court. Flicke was imprisoned in London ...
, 1554. File:DunstanLarge.jpg, Saint
Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury, Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restor ...
, then artist-Abbot of Glastonbury, prostrates himself before a giant Christ. Inscribed "Remember, I beg you, merciful Christ, to protect Dunstan, and do not permit the storms of the underworld to swallow me up". Later he became
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. c. 950 (cropped at bottom). File:Unknown-artist-eadwine-the-scribe-at-work-eadwine-psalter-christ-church-canterbury-england-uk-circa-1160-70.jpg, Eadwine the Scribe whose self portrait is accompanied by the inscription "I am the chief of scribes, and neither my praise nor fame shall die; shout out, oh my letter, who I may be. By its fame your script proclaims you, Eadwine, whom the painted figure represents, alive through the ages, whose genius the beauty of this book demonstrates. Receive, O God, the book and its donor as an acceptable gift." Canterbury, c. 1150s. File:Peter parler.jpg,
Peter Parler Peter Parler (german: Peter von Gemünd, cs, Petr Parléř, la, Petrus de Gemunden in Suevia; 1333 – 13 July 1399) was a German-Bohemian architect and sculptor from the Parler family of master builders. Along with his father, Heinrich Parler, ...
, late 14th century, from
Prague Cathedral , native_name_lang = Czech , image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...
, where he was master architect and sculptor. File:Ghiberti.png, Lorenzo Ghiberti on the ''Gates of Paradise'', Baptisterio, Florence ''self portrait'', early 15th century File:Portrait of a Man by Jan van Eyck-small.jpg,
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
, '' Portrait of a Man in a Turban'' (actually a '' chaperon''), 1433, National Gallery, generally regarded as a self-portrait, which would make it the earliest Western panel portrait after antiquity. File:Weyden madonna 1440.jpg, Rogier van der Weyden, as Saint
Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
, makes a drawing for his painting of the Virgin. Boston, c. 1440. File:Jean Fouquet.png, Jean Fouquet, c. 1450, a very early
portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
, and if the Van Eyck above is excluded, the oldest individual Western painted self-portrait. File:Andrea Mantegna 084.jpg, Andrea Mantegna, c. 1474, includes himself, as court artist, in his appropriate place in this
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
of the
Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places * Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy * Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily People with the surna ...
court. File:Meckenem.jpg,
Israhel van Meckenem Israhel van Meckenem (c.1445 – 10 November 1503), also known as Israhel van Meckenem the Younger, was a German printmaker and goldsmith, perhaps of a Dutch family origin. He was the most prolific engraver of the fifteenth century and an impor ...
and his wife, engraving c. 1490, the earliest portrait print.


Albrecht Dürer, 1471–1528, the first prolific self-portraitist

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
was an artist highly conscious of his public image and reputation, whose main income came from his
old master print An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmakin ...
s, all containing his famous monogram, which were sold throughout Europe. He probably depicted himself more often than any artist before him, producing at least twelve images, including three oil portraits, and figures in four
altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...
s. The earliest is a
silverpoint Silverpoint (one of several types of metalpoint) is a traditional drawing technique first used by medieval scribes on manuscripts. History A silverpoint drawing is made by dragging a silver rod or wire across a surface, often prepared with gesso ...
drawing created when he was thirteen years old. At twenty-two Dürer painted ''Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle'' (1493, Louvre), probably to send to his new fiancée,
Agnes Frey Agnes or Agness may refer to: People * Agnes (name), the given name, and a list of people named Agnes or Agness * Wilfrid Marcel Agnès (1920–2008), Canadian diplomat Places *Agnes, Georgia, United States, a ghost town * Agnes, Missouri, Unite ...
. The Madrid self-portrait (1498, Prado) depicts Dürer as a dandy in fashionable Italian dress, reflecting the international success he had achieved by then. In his last self-portrait, sold or given to the city of Nuremberg, and displayed publicly, which very few portraits then were, the artist depicted himself with an unmistakable resemblance to Jesus Christ (Munich, Alte Pinakothek). He later re-used the face in a religious engraving of, revealingly, the
Veil of Veronica The Veil of Veronica, or (Latin for sweat-cloth), also known as the Vernicle and often called simply the Veronica, is a Christian relic consisting of a piece of cloth said to bear an image of the Holy Face of Jesus produced by other than human ...
, Christ's own "self-portrait" (B.25). A self-portrait in gouache he sent to Raphael has not survived. A woodcut of a bathhouse and a drawing show virtually nude self-portraits. Image:Self-portrait_at_13_by_Albrecht_Dürer.jpg, Dürer at thirteen,
silverpoint Silverpoint (one of several types of metalpoint) is a traditional drawing technique first used by medieval scribes on manuscripts. History A silverpoint drawing is made by dragging a silver rod or wire across a surface, often prepared with gesso ...
, Albertina, 1484 Image:Self-portrait-with-a-pillow-1103-mid.jpg, Dürer at about twenty, 1491–92, drawing, Metropolitan Image:Albrecht-self.jpg,
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
''Self-portrait'' 1493. oil, originally on vellum Louvre, Paris. This is among the earliest known formal self-portraits. He is dressed in Italian fashion, reflecting his international success. File:Albrecht Dürer - 1500 self-portrait (High resolution and detail).jpg, Dürer's last self-portrait, 1500—unmistakably Christ-like


Renaissance and Baroque

The great Italian painters of the Renaissance made comparatively few formal painted self-portraits, but often included themselves in larger works. Most individual self-portraits they have left were straightforward depictions; Dürer's showmanship was rarely followed, although a controversially attributed ''Self-portrait as David'' by Giorgione would have something of the same spirit, if it is a self-portrait. There is a portrait by Pietro Perugino of about 1500 (Collegio del Cambio of Perugia), and one by the young Parmigianino showing the view in a convex mirror. There is also a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci (1512), and self-portraits in larger works by
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
, who gave his face to the skin of
St. Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو ...
in the '' Last Judgement'' of the Sistine Chapel (1536–1541), and Raphael who is seen in the characters of '' School of Athens'' 1510, or with a friend who holds his shoulder (1518). Also notable are two portraits of Titian as an old man in the 1560s.
Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...
appears as a violinist clothed in white in his '' Marriage at Cana'', accompanied by Titian on the bass viol (1562). Northern artists continued to make more individual portraits, often looking very much like their other bourgeois sitters. Johan Gregor van der Schardt produced a painted terracotta bust of himself (c. 1573). Titian's ''
Allegory of Prudence The ''Allegory of Prudence'' () is an oil-on-canvas painting attributed to the Italian artist Titian and his assistants. The painting portrays three human heads, each facing in a different direction, above three animal heads (from left to right, a ...
'' (c. 1565–70) is thought to depict Titian, his son Orazio, and a young cousin, Marco Vecellio. Titian also painted a late self-portrait in 1567; apparently his first. Baroque artist
Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (, ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing profess ...
's ''La Pittura (Self-portrait as the allegory of painting)'' presents herself embodying the classical allegorical representation of Painting, seen in the dramatic mask worn around Gentileschi's neck which Painting often carries. The artist's focus on her work, away from the viewer, highlights the drama of the Baroque period, and the changing role of the artist from craftsperson to singular innovator.
Frances Borzello Frances Borzello is a British art historian and scholar, feminist art critic and author. Her work specializes in the social history of art, and includes study on the social position of European woman artists in the context of their society, the ...
, ''Seeing Ourselves: Women's Self-Portraiture'', 1998.
Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
painted himself in ''
Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
'' at the beginning of his career, then appears in the staffage of some of his larger paintings. Finally, the head of
Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...
held by David (1605–10, Galleria Borghese) is Caravaggio's own. Image:Bellini selfportrait.jpg, Gentile Bellini, black chalk, 1496 or earlier, Berlin Image:Adam Kraft.jpg, Nuremberg sculptor Adam Kraft, self-portrait from ''St Lorenz Church'', 1490s. Image:Possible Self-Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.jpg, Probable self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1512–1515 Image:Nicholas Hilliard 021.jpg, Nicholas Hilliard, self-
portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
, 1577


Rembrandt and the 17th century in Northern Europe

In the 17th century, Flanders, Flemish and Dutch artists painted themselves far more often than before; by this date most successful artists had a position in society where a member of any other trade would consider having their portrait painted. Many also included their families, again following the normal practice for the middle-classes. Mary Beale, Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens produced numerous images of themselves, the latter also often painting his family. This practice was especially common for female artists, whose inclusion of their families was often a deliberate attempt to mitigate criticism of their profession causing distraction from their "natural role" as mothers.
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
drew and painted dozens of self-portraits, as well as portraits of his wife, son, and mistress. At one time about ninety paintings were counted as Rembrandt self-portraits, but it is now known that he had his students copy his own self-portraits as part of their training. Modern scholarship has reduced the autograph count to something over forty paintings, a few drawings, and thirty-one etchings. Many show him posing in quasi-historical fancy dress, or pulling faces at himself. His oil paintings trace the progress from an uncertain young man to the dapper and very successful portrait-painter of the 1630s to the troubled but massively powerful portraits of his old age. Image:Rembrandt - Self-Portrait - WGA19206.jpg, A young Rembrandt, c. 1628, when he was 22. Partly an exercise in chiaroscuro. Rijksmuseum Image:Rembrandt aux yeux hagards.jpg, Etching and Burin (engraving), burin, c. 1630. Probably an exercise in capturing facial expressions for larger paintings. Image:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 144.jpg, Rembrandt in 1632, when he was enjoying great success as a fashionable portraitist in this style. Image:Rembrandtselfportraitweb.jpg, Role-playing in ''Self-portrait as an oriental Potentate with a Kris'', etching, 1634. File:Rembrandt - Zelfportret 1640.jpg, 1640, wearing a costume in the style of over a century earlier. National Gallery Image:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 132.jpg, Vienna c. 1655, oil on walnut, cut down in size. Image:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 130.jpg, Again in antique costume, 1658, Oil on canvas Frick Collection. His largest self-portrait, for which a new mirror may have been used. Image:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 135.jpg, Dated 1669, the year he died, though he looks much older in other portraits. National Gallery, London


After Rembrandt

In Spain, there were self-portraits of Bartolomé Estéban Murillo and
Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...
. Francisco de Zurbarán represented himself in Luke the Evangelist at the feet of Christ on the cross (around 1635). In the 19th century, Goya painted himself numerous times. French self-portraits, at least after Nicolas Poussin tend to show the social status of the artist, although Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin and some others instead showed their real working costume very realistically. This was a decision all 18th-century self-portraitists needed to make, although many painted themselves in both formal and informal costume in different paintings. Thereafter, one can say that most significant painters left us at least one self-portrait, even after the decline of the painted portrait with the arrival of photography. Gustave Courbet (see below) was perhaps the most creative self-portraitist of the 19th century, and ''The Artist's studio'' and ''Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet'' are perhaps the largest self-portraits ever painted. Both contain many figures, but are firmly centred on the heroic figure of the artist.


Prolific modern self-portraitists

One of the most famous and most prolific of self-portraitists was Vincent van Gogh, who drew and painted himself more than Self-portraits by Vincent van Gogh, 43 times between 1886 and 1889. In all of these self-portraits one is struck that the gaze of the painter is seldom directed at the viewer; even when it is a fixed gaze, he seems to look elsewhere. These paintings vary in intensity and color and some portray the artist with bandages; representing the episode in which he severed one of his ears. The many self-portraits of Egon Schiele set new standards of openness, or perhaps exhibitionism, representing him naked in many positions, sometimes masturbating or with an erection, as in ''Eros'' (1911). Stanley Spencer was to follow somewhat in this vein. Max Beckmann was a prolific painter of self-portraits as was Edvard Munch who made great numbers of self-portrait paintings (70), prints (20) and drawings or watercolours (over 100) throughout his life, many showing him being badly treated by life, and especially by women. Obsessively using the self-portrait as a personal and introspective artistic expression was Horst Janssen, who produced hundreds of self-portraits depicting him a wide range of contexts most notably in relation to sickness, moodiness and death. The 2004 exhibition "Schiele, Janssen. Selbstinszenierung, Eros, Tod" (Schiele, Janssen: Self-dramatisation, Eros, Death) at the Leopold Museum in Vienna paralleled the works of Egon Schiele and Horst Janssen, both heavily drawing on sujets of erotica and death in combination with relentless self-portraiture.
Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...
, who following a terrible accident spent many years bedridden, with only herself for a model, was another painter whose self-portraits depict great pain, in her case physical as well as mental. Her 55-odd self-portraits include many of herself from the waist up, and also some nightmarish representations which symbolize her physical sufferings. Throughout his long career, Pablo Picasso often used self-portraits to depict himself in the many different guises, disguises and incarnations of his autobiographical artistic persona. From the young unknown "Yo Picasso" period to the "Minotaur in the Labyrinth" period, to the "old Cavalier" and the "lecherous old artist and model" periods. Often Picasso's self-portraits depicted and revealed complicated psychological insights, both personal and profound about the inner state and well-being of the artist. Another artist who painted personal and revealing self-portraits throughout his career was Pierre Bonnard. Bonnard also painted dozens of portraits of his wife Marthe throughout her life as well. Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Egon Schiele and Horst Janssen in particular made intense (at times disturbingly so) and self-revealing self-portraits throughout their careers.


Self-portraits in general


Gallery: painters at work

Many of the medieval portraits show the artist at work, and Jan van Eyck (above) his chaperon (headgear), chaperon hat has the parts normally hanging loose tied up on his head, giving the misleading impression he is wearing a turban, presumably for convenience whilst he paints. In the early modern period, increasingly, men as well as women who painted themselves at work had to choose whether to present themselves in their best clothes, and best room, or to depict studio practice realistically. See also the Gallery of Women painters above. File:Pieter Bruegel the Elder - The Painter and the Buyer, 1565 - Google Art Project.jpg, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, ''The Painter and The Buyer'', c.1565, pen and ink on brown paper, presumed to be a self-portrait. Antwerp Image:Mignard-autoportrait.jpg, Pierre Mignard, 1690, Louvre. Image:Francesco Solimena 001.jpg, Francesco Solimena, c. 1715. Image:François Boucher 003.jpg, François Boucher, ''self-portrait in the studio'', 1720 Image:Self-portrait_c.1747-9_by_Joshua_Reynolds_(2).jpg, Joshua Reynolds, National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom), National Portrait Gallery, 1748. The artist as visionary. Much cut down, this originally had a vertical format. Image:George Desmarées 001.jpg, George Desmarées and his daughter, 1750, Munich. File:Jean-Honoré Fragonard - Self-portrait in a Renaissance costume.jpeg, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, ''Self-Portrait with Palette and Brushes'', 1769 Image:Chardin pastel selfportrait.jpg, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1771), in his painting clothes. Image:Self-portrait in the Studio by Francisco de Goya.jpg, Goya, ''Self-portrait in the Studio'', 1795 File:Gustave Courbet - Artist at His Easel - WGA05523.jpg, Gustave Courbet, ''Artist at His Easel'', c. 1847–1848, charcoal on paper Image:Carl Ludwig Jessen Selbstporträt.jpg, Carl Ludwig Jessen, ''Self-portrait'', 1857 File:Whistler Selbstporträt.jpg, James Whistler, ''Self Portrait'', c. 1872, Detroit Institute of Arts File:Vincent van Gogh - Zelfportret als schilder (1888).jpg, Vincent van Gogh, ''Self-Portrait as a Painter'', December 1887 - February 1888 Image:Rousseau09.jpg, Henri Rousseau, 1890 Image:Malczewski_Jacek_Autoportret_z_paleta.jpg, Jacek Malczewski, ''Self-portrait with a Palette'', 1892 Image:Julian Fałat, Autoportret.jpg, Julian Fałat, ''Self-portrait with a Palette'', 1896 Image:Självporträtt av Anders Zorn 1896.jpg, Anders Zorn, ''Self-portrait with a Model'', 1896 Image:Umberto-Boccioni.jpg, Umberto Boccioni, ''Self-portrait'', 1906 File:Enrique Simonet - Autorretrato - 1910 RGB.jpg, Enrique Simonet, ''Self-portrait with a Palette'', 1910 File:Ilya Repin self-portrait at work.jpg, Ilya Repin, ''Self-portrait at Work'', 1915 File:Henri Matisse, 1918, Portrait du peintre (Autoportrait, Self-portrait), oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm, Matisse Museum (Le Cateau).jpg, Henri Matisse, ''Self-portrait'', 1918, Matisse Museum (Le Cateau) File:Sergio de Castro, 61.43 Autoportrait.jpg, Sergio de Castro (artist), Sergio de Castro, ''Self-portrait with brushes'', oil on canvas, 1961


Classification

Art critic Galina Vasilyeva-Shlyapina separates two basic forms of the self-portrait: "professional" portraits, in which the artist is depicted at work, and "personal" portraits, which reveal moral and psychological features. She also proposes a more detailed taxonomy: (1) the "insertable" self-portrait, where the artist inserts his or her own portrait into, for example, a group of characters related to some subject; (2) the "prestigious, or symbolic" self-portrait, where an artist depicts him- or herself in the guise of a historical person or religious hero; (3) the "group portrait" where artist is depicted with members of family or other real persons; (4) the "separate or natural" self-portrait, where the artist is depicted alone. However it might be thought these classes are rather rigid; many portraits manage to combine several of them. With new media came a chance to create different kinds of self-portraits besides simply static painting or photographs. Many people, especially teens, use social networking sites to form their own personal identity on the internet. Still others use blogs or create personal web pages to create a space for self-expression and self-portraiture.


Mirrors and poses

The self-portrait supposes in theory the use of a mirror; glass mirrors became available in Europe in the 15th century. The first mirrors used were convex, introducing deformations that the artist sometimes preserved. A painting by Parmigianino in 1524 ''Self-portrait in a mirror'', demonstrates the phenomenon. Mirrors permit surprising compositions like the ''Triple self-portrait'' by Johannes Gumpp (1646), or more recently that of Salvador Dalí shown from the back painting his wife, Gala Dalí, Gala (1972–73). This use of the mirror often results in right-handed painters representing themselves as left-handed (and vice versa). Usually the face painted is therefore a mirror image of what the rest of the world saw, unless two mirrors were used. Most of Rembrandt's self-portraits before 1660 show only one hand – the painting hand is left unpainted. He appears to have bought a larger mirror in about 1652, after which his self-portraits become larger. In 1658 a large mirror in a wood frame broke whilst being transported to his house; nonetheless, in this year he completed his Frick self-portrait, his largest. File:Parmigianino Selfportrait.jpg, Parmigianino, ''Self-portrait in a mirror'' c. 1524, is itself painted on a convex surface, like that of the mirrors of the period File:Johannes gumpp.jpg, Johannes Gumpp, 1646, shows how most self-portraits were painted File:Courbet LAtelier du peintre.jpg, Gustave Courbet, ''The Artist's Studio, The Artist's Studio (L'Atelier du peintre): A Real Allegory of a Seven Year Phase in my Artistic and Moral Life'', 1855, Musée d'Orsay File:Der-maler-und-jo oppler 1928.jpg, Ernst Oppler, ''The painter and Jo'', 1928. Selfportrait and portrait The size of single-sheet mirrors was restricted until technical advances made in France in 1688 by Bernard Perrot. They also remained very fragile, and large ones were much more expensive pro-rata than small ones – the breakages were recut into small pieces. About 80 cm, or two and a half feet, seems to have been the maximum size until then – roughly the size of the palace mirror in ''Las Meninas'' (the convex mirror in the ''
Arnolfini Portrait ''The Arnolfini Portrait'' (or ''The Arnolfini Wedding'', ''The Arnolfini Marriage'', the ''Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife'', or other titles) is a 1434 oil painting on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It fo ...
'' is considered by historians impractically large, one of Van Eyck's many cunning distortions of scale). Largely for this reason, most early self-portraits show painters at no more than half-length. Self-portraits of the artist at work were, as mentioned above, the commonest form of medieval self-portrait, and these have continued to be popular, with a specially large number from the 18th century on. One particular type in the medieval and Renaissance periods was the artist shown as Saint
Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
(patron saint of artists) painting the Virgin Mary. Many of these were presented to the local Guild of Saint Luke, to be placed in their chapel. A famous large view of the artist in his studio is ''The Artist's Studio'' by Gustave Courbet (1855), an immense "Allegory" of objects and characters amid which the painter sits.


Gallery: mortality in the self-portrait

Image:Last judgement.jpg, Michelangelo Buonarroti, c. 1535–1541, Sistine Chapel: ''The Last Judgment'',
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
as a limp skin hanging from the hand of
St. Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو ...
. Image:Titian - Allegorie der Zeit.jpg, ''
Allegory of Prudence The ''Allegory of Prudence'' () is an oil-on-canvas painting attributed to the Italian artist Titian and his assistants. The painting portrays three human heads, each facing in a different direction, above three animal heads (from left to right, a ...
'', Titian, his son and the cousin he had virtually adopted, as Past, Present and Future. National Gallery, London, late 1560s. Image:Self portrait, 1610.jpg, Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-portrait, 1610, aged 78, the last of her many self-portraits, though she was painted later by Van Dyck. Image:David with the Head of Goliath-Caravaggio (1610).jpg, Goliath in this late Caravaggio ''David with the head of Goliath'' is a self-portrait. 1605–10, Galleria Borghese, Rome. Image:DebrayCleopatra.jpg, Jan de Bray (left) and his family pose as ''The Banquet of Anthony and Cleopatra''. By the date of this second version of 1669, most of the models had died of the plague some years before. Image:Francisco de Goya - Self-Portrait with Dr. Arrieta - Google Art Project.jpg, Goya at the age of 74, ''Self-portrait with Doctor Arrieta'', 1820, Minneapolis. File:Hippolyte Bayard - Drownedman 1840.jpg, Hippolyte Bayard poses as a drowned man. He lies with his eyes closed, both for the technical reason of the long exposure required by his method and as a protest for the rejection of his claim as inventor of photography. Image:Lovis Corinth 010.jpg, Lovis Corinth, 1896. Flesh and bone, life and death are contrasted here.


Other meanings, storytelling

The self-portraits of many Contemporary artists and Modernists often are characterized by a strong sense of narrative, often but not strictly limited to vignettes from the artists life-story. Sometimes the narrative resembles fantasy, roleplaying and fiction. Besides
Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...
, (in his painting Las Meninas), Rembrandt Van Rijn, Jan de Bray, Gustave Courbet, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin other artists whose self-portraits reveal complex narratives include Pierre Bonnard, Marc Chagall, Lucian Freud, Arshile Gorky,
Alice Neel Alice Neel (January 28, 1900 – October 13, 1984) was an American visual artist, who was known for her portraits depicting friends, family, lovers, poets, artists, and strangers. Her paintings have an expressionistic use of line and color, psyc ...
, Pablo Picasso, Lucas Samaras,
Jenny Saville Jennifer Anne Saville (born 7 May 1970) is a contemporary British painter and an original member of the Young British Artists.Royal Academy of ArtsJenny Saville RA , Artist , Royal Academy of Arts accessdate: 29 August 2014 Saville works and ...
, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol and Gilbert and George. Image:Judith_with_the_Head_of_Holofernes_by_Cristofano_Allori.jpg, Cristofano Allori, ''Judith with the Head of Holofernes'', 1613. According to his biographer, the heads were those of the painter, his ex-lover, and her mother. Compare Caravaggio above. Image:Anthonyvandyckselfportrait.jpeg, Van Dyck with sunflower, representing his patronage by Charles I, whose medal he holds up to the flower. Or is Van Dyck the sun the flower turns to? 1633 or later. Image:PolierMartinWombwellZoffany.jpg, Johann Zoffany specialised in group portraits, often "conversation pieces" with gentle narrative content, and spent some years in India. c. 1786. Image:Gustave Courbet 010.jpg, Gustave Courbet, 1854, ''Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet''. The artist has travelled to the South of France (in the vanishing coach), to meet the collector Alfred Bruyas, for whom this was painted.


Self-promotion

The self-portrait can be a very effective form of advertising for an artist, especially of course for a portrait painter. Dürer was not really interested in portraits commercially, but made good use of his extraordinary self-portraits to advertise himself as an artist, something he was very sophisticated in doing. Sofonisba Anguissola painted intricate miniatures which served as advertisements for her skill as well as novelty items, considered such because the rarity of successful women painters provided them with an oddity quality. Rembrandt made his living principally from portrait-painting during his most successful period, and like Van Dyck and Joshua Reynolds, many of his portraits were certainly intended to advertise his skills. With the advent of regular Academy shows, many artists tried to produce memorable self-portraits to make an impression on the artistic stage. A recent exhibition at the National Gallery, London, ''Rebels and Martyrs'', did not shrink from the comic bathos that sometimes resulted. An example from the 21st century is Arnaud Prinstet, an otherwise little-known contemporary artist who has generated good amounts of publicity by undertaking to paint his self-portrait every day. On the other hand, some artists depicted themselves very much as they did other clients. File:François Desportes 001.jpg, François Desportes, a specialist animal painter, ''Self-portrait as Hunter'', 1699. File:Maurice Quentin de La Tour - Self-Portrait - WGA12361.jpg, Maurice Quentin de La Tour, pastel, 1750–60. File:Gustave Courbet - Le Désespéré (1843).jpg, Gustave Courbet, ''Le Désespéré, Self Portrait (The Desperate Man)'', c. 1843. File:William Orpen, Self-Portrait,.jpg, William Orpen, c. 1910


Diagnosing the self-portrait

Some artists who suffered neurological or physical diseases have left self-portraits of themselves that have allowed later physicians to attempt to analyze disruptions of mental processes; and many of these analyses have entered into the textbooks of neurology. The self-portraits of artists who suffered mental illnesses give a unique possibility to physicians for investigating self-perception in people with psychological, psychiatric or neurologic disturbances. Russian sexologist Igor Kon in his article about masturbation notes that a habit of masturbating may be depicted in works of art, particularly paintings. So Austrian artist Egon Schiele depicted himself so occupied in one of his self-portraits. Kon observes that this painting does not portray pleasure from the masturbation, but a feeling of solitude. Creations of Schiele are analyzed by other researchers in terms of human sexual behavior, sexuality, and particularly pedophilia.


Collections

One of the most distinguished, and oldest, collections of self-portraits is in the Vasari Corridor of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It was originally the collection by the Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici in the second part of the 17th century and has been maintained and expanded until the present time. It is mostly not on view for general visitors, although some paintings are shown in the main galleries. Many famous artists have not been able to resist an invitation to donate a self-portrait to the collection. It comprises more than 200 portraits, in particular those of Pietro da Cortona, Charles Le Brun, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, and Marc Chagall. Other important collections are housed at the National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom) in London (with various satellite outstations elsewhere), and the National Portrait Gallery (United States), National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C..


Gallery

Image:Autoportrait perugino.jpg, Pietro Perugino, c.1500 File:Raffaello Sanzio.jpg, Raphael, c. 1517–1518, Uffizi Gallery Image:Hans Baldung, Self-Portrait.jpg, Hans Baldung, 1526 Image:Tizian 090.jpg, Titian seems to have painted no self-portraits until he was in old age, 1567 Image:El Greco - Portrait of a Man - WGA10554.jpg, Probable self-portrait by El Greco, 1604 Image:Rubens self portrait.jpg, Peter Paul Rubens, 1623 Image:Peter Paul Rubens 105.jpg,
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
with his (first) wife Isabella Brant, Munich, c.1609 Image:Francisco de Zurbarán autoportrait.jpg, Self-portrait of Francisco Zurbarán, as Saint Luke.
Detail of '':commons:Image:Francisco de Zurbarán 046.jpg, Saint Luke as a Painter Before the Crucifixion'' Image:Self-portrait_by_Salvator_Rosa.jpg, Salvator Rosa, 1640. "Of Silence and Speech, Silence is better" says the inscription Image:Self-portrait_by_Diego_Velázquez.jpg,
Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...
, ''Self-Portrait'', 1643 Image:Nicolas Poussin 078.jpg, Nicolas Poussin, ''Self-Portrait'', 1650 Image:Sir Joshua Reynolds 013.jpg, Joshua Reynolds, presented to the Royal Academy, of which he was first President. Rather like Rembrandt, but more successful. 1773 File:Gilbert Stuart Selfportrait.jpg, Gilbert Stuart, Self-portrait, 1778 File:Francisco de Goya - Autorretrato - Google Art Project.jpg, Francisco Goya, 1815 Oil on panel, Museo de la Real Academia de San Fernando, Madrid Image:Eugene delacroix.jpg, Eugène Delacroix, 1837 File:Gustave Courbet - Self-Portrait with Black Dog - WGA05480.jpg, Gustave Courbet, 1842 Image:Brjullov.jpg, Karl Bryullov, 1848 File:Edgar Degas self portrait 1855.jpeg, Edgar Degas, ''Self-portrait'', 1855 File:Whistler James Portrait of Whistler with Hat (1858).jpg, James McNeill Whistler, ''Portrait of Whistler with Hat'', 1858, a self-portrait at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Bemberg Fondation Toulouse - Self-portrait paintings by Henri Fantin-Latour.jpg, Henri Fantin-Latour, ''Self-portrait'', 1860 File:Ivan Kramskoi Self Portrait.png, Ivan Kramskoi, ''Self Portrait (Kramskoi), Self-portrait'', 1867 File:Aivazovsky - Self-portrait 1874.jpg, Ivan Aivazovsky, ''Self-portrait'', 1874 Image:Edouard Manet 060.jpg, Édouard Manet, ''Self-Portrait with Palette (Manet), Self-Portrait with Palette,'' 1879 Image:Paul Cézanne 159.jpg, Paul Cézanne, 1880–1881 National Gallery, London (Albi) Auto-portrait devant un miroir - 1882 Toulouse-Lautrec - MLT.20.jpg, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, ''Self portrait'', 1882–1883 Image:Serov Self.jpg, Valentin Serov, 1887 File:Édouard Vuillard 001.jpg, Édouard Vuillard, ''Self-portrait'', 1889 Image:SelbstPortrait VG2.jpg, Vincent van Gogh, 1889 Musée d'Orsay Paris Image:Paul Gauguin 111.jpg, Paul Gauguin, 1893 Image:Eakins selfportrait.jpg, Thomas Eakins, ''Self-portrait (Thomas Eakins), Self-portrait'', 1902 File:Henri Rousseau - Self-portrait of the Artist with a Lamp.jpg, Henri Rousseau, 1903, ''Self-portrait of the Artist with a Lamp'' File:Henri Matisse Self-Portrait in a Striped T-shirt (1906).jpg, Henri Matisse, ''Self-Portrait in a Striped T-shirt'', 1906, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark Image:Renoir Self-Portrait 1910.jpg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1910 File:Zinaida Serebryakova - self-portrait as Piero (1911).jpg, Zinaida Serebriakova, ''Self-portrait as Pierrot'', 1911 File:Egon Schiele - Self-Portrait with Physalis - Google Art Project.jpg, Egon Schiele, 1912


Photo-portraits

Two methods of obtaining photographic self-portraits are widespread. One is photographing a reflection in the mirror, and the other photographing one's self with the camera in an outstretched hand. Eleazar Langman photographed his reflection on the surface of a nickel-plated teapot. Another method involves setting the camera or capture device upon a tripod, or surface. One might then set the camera's timer, or use a remote controlled shutter release. Finally, setting up the camera, entering the scene and having an assistant release the shutter (i.e., if the presence of a cable release is unwanted in the photo) can arguably be regarded as a photographic self-portrait, as well. The speed of creating photographic self-portraits allowed for a range of images with more of a "play" atmosphere than traditional methods. One such example is Frances Benjamin Johnston's ''Self-Portrait, c. 1896'', an image which demonstrates the photo-portrait's ability to play with gender roles. File:RobertCornelius.jpg, The first photographic portrait ever made was a self-portrait by Robert Cornelius, 1839. Image:Mathew Brady 1875 cropped.jpg, Mathew Brady, ''self-portrait'', circa 1875 File:Nadar autoportrait tournant.gif, Nadar (photographer), Nadar, ''Revolving Self Portrait'', c. 1865 File:Rimbaud in Harar.jpg, Arthur Rimbaud, ''Self-portrait in Harar, Ethiopia'', 1883Jeancolas (1998), 164. Image:Eakins, Thomas (1844-1916) - 1883 ca. - Autoritratto con John Laurie Wallace.jpg, Thomas Eakins, ''Self-portrait with John Laurie Wallace,'' circa 1883 Image:Muybridge disk step walk.jpg, Eadweard Muybridge ''Self-portrait as man throwing, climbing and walking'', circa 1893 File:Edgar Degas Foto.jpg, Edgar Degas, ''Self-portrait'', 1895 Image:Edward S. Curtis self portrait 1899.jpg, Edward S. Curtis, ''self-portrait'', 1898 File:ZOLA 1902B.jpg, Émile Zola, ''self-portrait'', 1902 File:Edvard Munch - Edvard Munch at the Beach in Warnemünde - Google Art Project.jpg, Edvard Munch, ''self-portrait at the beach in Warnemünde,'' 1907. 83 × 87 mm. Munch Museum, Oslo Image:Sergei-Prokudin-Gorski-Larg.jpg, Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, ''Self-portrait on the Korolistskali, Korolistskali River'', 1912 File:Kirchner 1919 portrait.jpg, Ernst Kirchner, ''self-portrait'', 1919


Drawings, prints and engravings

Image:Leonardo da Vinci - Self-Portrait - WGA12798.jpg, Leonardo da Vinci, ''Self-portrait (Leonardo da Vinci), Self-portrait'', c. 1512 to 1515. Image:Giuseppe Arcimboldo.jpg, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, ''self portrait'', c. 1577 File:Rembrandt van Rijn - Zelfportret.jpg, Rembrandt van Rijn, ''Self-portrait,'' pen and brush and ink on paper, c. 1628-1629 Image:D.D.Petrus.Paulus.Rubens.jpg, Peter Paul Rubens, ''self portrait'', c. 1634 Image:Goya selfportrait.jpg, Francisco de Goya, ''self portrait'', print, 1795 Image:ConstableSelfPortrait.png, John Constable ''self portrait'', 1806 Image:Caspar David Friedrich self portrait.jpeg, Caspar David Friedrich, ''self portrait'', age thirty-six, 1810 Image:Vrubel Self Portrait 1885.jpg, Mikhail Vrubel, ''self portrait'', c. 1885 Image:Auto-retrato de Castro Alves (1847-1871).jpg, Castro Alves, ''self portrait'', 18--. File:92 10 161x157cm.jpg, Ilka Gedő, Self-Portrait in the Budapest Ghetto, 1944, Hungarian Jewish Museum


See also

*3D selfie *Hockney–Falco thesis *Portrait *Portrait of a Young Man with a Golden Chain *Portrait painting *Self timer *Selfie *Self-portraits by Rembrandt *Self-portraits by Vincent van Gogh *The Portrait Now


Notes and references


Further reading

* Julian Bell (ed.), ''Five Hundred Self-Portraits''. Phaidon Press, London/New York, 2000 (pb 2004), Self-Portraits in chronological order from ancient Egypt to the present. *
Frances Borzello Frances Borzello is a British art historian and scholar, feminist art critic and author. Her work specializes in the social history of art, and includes study on the social position of European woman artists in the context of their society, the ...
, ''Seeing ourselves - Women's self-portraits'', Thames & Hudson, 2018, * John J. Ciofalo, ''Self-Portraits of Francisco Goya.'' Cambridge University Press, 2001 * Joseph Leo Koerner, ''The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art'', Chicago/London, 1993 * Edward Lucie-Smith with Sean Kelly, ''The Self Portrait: A Modern View''. (1987) * Jonathan Miller, ''On Reflection'', 1998, National Gallery, . * Liz Rideal, Whitney Chadwick,
Frances Borzello Frances Borzello is a British art historian and scholar, feminist art critic and author. Her work specializes in the social history of art, and includes study on the social position of European woman artists in the context of their society, the ...
, ''Mirror Mirror - Self-portraits by women artists'', New York, Watson-Guptill, 2002, * Natalie Rudd, ''The Self-portrait'', Thames & Hudson, 2021, * Ernst van de Wetering and others, ''Rembrandt by himself'', 1999, National Gallery, London / Mauritshuis, The Hague, * Joanna Woodall, ''Self Portrait. Renaissance to Contemporary''. National Portrait Gallery, London, National Portrait Gallery, London and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005.


Non-English

* Bernard Auriol, ''L'image préalable, l'expression impressive et l'autoportrait'', Psychologie Médicale, 19, 9, 1543–1547, 1987 * Pascal Bonafoux, ''Les peintres et l'autoportrait'', Skira, Geneva, 1984, * Bonafoux, Pascal / David Rosenberg (curator), Rosenberg, David: ''Moi! Autoportraits du XXe siècle''. Musée du Luxembourg (Paris) / Skira Editore (Milano), Exhibition catalogue. 2004, Text French, Paris 2004, The book presents 155 artist (fine art) of the 20th century by showing their self-portraits added by informative texts. * Calabrese, Omar: ''Artists' Self-portraits''. Abbeville Press, 2006, * Claude Jeancolas, Jeancolas, Claude. (1998). ''Passion Rimbaud: L'Album d'une vie''. Paris: Textuel. * Joëlle Moulin, ''L'autoportrait au XXe siècle'', éd. Adam Biro, Paris, 1999 * Pfisterer, Ulrich / Rosen, Valeska von ~ (Hrsg.): ''Der Künstler als Kunstwerk. Selbstporträts vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart''. Reclam, Stuttgart 2005,
Rezension
* Kathrin Schmidt: ''Annegret Soltau: ich selbst'', Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt (Germany), 2006


Self-portrait in neurology

* Tielsch AH, Allen PJ (2005) ''Listen to them draw: screening children in primary care through the use of human figure drawings''. Pediatr Nurs 31(4): 320–327. This survey of literature is focused on the method of drawing people as the method of diagnostics. Children's figures can recognize mental disorders. The authors describe the use of self-portraits for diagnostics of emotional disorders in children from 6 to 12 years. Although this procedure does not make it possible to place final diagnosis, it is useful for the recognition of problems. * Morin C, Pradat-Diehl P, Robain G, Bensalah Y, Perrigot M (2003) Stroke hemiplegia and specular image: lessons from self-portraits. Int J Aging Hum Dev 56(1): 1-41. Patients with hemiplegia have diverse problems of self-perception, which are caused by neurological defeats of the idea of body, or by psychological problems with the perception their own self.


Psychology of self-perception

* Wegner DM (2003) The mind's self-portrait. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1001: 212–225. Psychology and neuroscience approach understanding of reason and consciousness. Meanwhile, each human reason contains the self-portrait, which contains the self-appraisal of cognitive processes. This self-portrait assumes that the actions of man are governed by thoughts and, thus, the body is governed by consciousness. Self-portrait leads to the persuasion, that we consciously desire to make something. Studies show that self-portraiture is a caricature on the function of the brain, but at the same time it is the basis of the sensation of authorship and responsibility of one's own actions.


External links


National Portrait Gallery
– Official web site
"The Exploration of Self: What Artists Find When They Search in the Mirror"
by Jeanne Ivy.

research related to ''The Self Portrait: A Modern View.'' (1987), Edward Lucie-Smith with Sean Kelly and other books
52 self-portraits from the National Galleries of ScotlandCatalogue of self portraits by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Self-Portrait Self-portraits, Portrait art Portraits, . Painting Photography by genre Visual arts genres