self-portrait
- A portrait an artist makes using himself or herself as its
subject, typically drawn or painted from a reflection
in a mirror.
Examples:
Listed chronologically by artist's birth year
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Jean Fouquet (French, c. 1420 -c. 1477-1481),
Self-Portrait, c. 1450, painted enamel on copper,
diameter 6.8 cm, Louvre.
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528),
three self-portraits, including Self-Portrait at Twenty-Seven, 1498,
oil on wood
panel, 20 1/2 x 16 1/8 inches (52
x 41 cm), Prado Museum, Madrid. Also see German
art and Northern
Renaissance.
Raffaello Sanzio (Italian, 1483-1520), "Raphael", The School of Athens, 1510-11, fresco, height 25 feet, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican, Rome. Many art historians believe that Raphael placed a self-portrait at the far right in this large composition. He is thought to have painted Plato — the man with the white beard in the center of the picture — with a likeness to Leonardo da Vinci. The man who is seated, in the near left of center appears to be a likeness of Michelangelo. Euclid looks like the architect Bramante; another man resembles Raphael's painting master, Perugino. See Renaissance.
Lucas van Leyden (Dutch, 1494-1533), Self-Portrait in a flat hat, no date, engraving, image 17.4 x 14.1 cm, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA.
Pieter Bruegel (Netherlandish, 1525?-1569),
Artist
and Connoisseur, 1565, pen
and ink on paper,
25 x 22 cm, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna. See connoisseur
and Northern
Renaissance.
Sofonisba Anguissola (Italian, c. 1535-1625),
Self-Portrait, c. 1555, oil
on parchment, 3 1/4 x 2
1/2 inches (8.2 x 6.3 cm), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The artist holds a medallion inscribed
in Latin around the rim: "The maiden Sofonisba Anguissola,
depicted by her own hand, from a mirror, at Cremona." Inside
the circle is a cryptogram
whose entwined letters
are included in the name of Anguissola's father, Amilcare. The
meaning and original purpose
of this enigmatic portrait remain a mystery.
See Baroque,
circle, cryptic,
feminism and feminist art, miniature, mirror, and oval.
Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640), Rubens,
His Wife Helena Fourment (1614-1673), and Their Son Peter Paul
(born 1637), probably late 1630s, oil
on wood panel,
80 1/4 x 62 1/4 inches (203.8 x 158.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum
of Art, NY. (On the Met's page, you can enlarge any detail.)
See Baroque.
Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599-1641), Self-Portrait, oil
on canvas, 116.5 x 93.5
cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Anthony van Dyck, Self-Portrait, c. 1630, etching, 9 1/2 x 6 1/8 inches (24.1
x 15.6 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Diego Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez
de Silva y Velázquez) (Spanish, 1599-1660), The Luncheon (Three Men at a Table),
c. 1617/18, oil on canvas, 43 x 40 inches (108.5
x 102 cm), Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. The young
man on the far right is thought to be a self-portrait of Velazquez.
Diego
Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez)
(Spanish, 1599-1660), The
Family of Philip IV, or "The Maids of Honor (Las Meninas)", c. 1656, oil
on canvas, (318 x 276 cm),
Prado Museum, Madrid.
This
is a group portrait
of an exceptional sort:
In the center-foreground
is the infanta (princess) attended by her meninas (maids 
of
honor) — companions including two young ladies, a dwarf, a child,
a dog, a nun, and a tutor.
This little party is visiting the studio
where Velázquez stands before his canvas. We see the back of it, perched upon
an easel. The 
painter
and most of the others look toward the king and queen as they
pose for the painting in progress.
The king and queen would not actually be
visible in this picture if their reflected
image could not be seen in a mirror
placed on the opposite wall. Altogether this is a view, which
could only be seen by the king and queen themselves, as they
pose for their portrait. The point
of view of every person who gazes
upon this painting is that of the king and queen of Spain. A
very privileged vantage indeed! See Baroque, genre, and Spanish
art.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), Self-Portrait at Twenty-Two , 1628, oil on panel, 22.6 x 18.7 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. See chiaroscuro and shadow.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669),
Self-Portrait
with Beret and Gold Chain, 1630-1, oil
on wood panel,
69.7 x 57cm, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. See beret.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Self-Portrait at an Open Window, 1648, etching, 16 x 13 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Self-Portrait, 1658, oil
on canvas, 52 5/8 x 40
7/8 inches (133.7 x 103.8 cm), Frick Collection, NY.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Self-Portrait as St. Paul, 1661,
oil on canvas, 91 x 77 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
William Hogarth (English, 1697-1764), The Painter and his Pug, 1745, oil
on canvas, 90.0 x 69.9
cm, Tate Gallery, London.
Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin (French,
1699-1779), Self-Portrait in Spectacles, 1771, pastel, on blue-gray paper over canvas,
16 x 13 inches (40.7 x 32.5 cm), Louvre. See easel and Rococo.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (English, 1723-1792),
Self-Portrait when Young, 1753-58, oil on canvas,
73.7 x 61.6 cm, Tate Gallery, London.
Matthew Pratt (American, 1734-1805), The American School, 1765, oil
on canvas, 36 x 50 1/4
inches (91.4 x 127.6 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. Benjamin
West, standing to the left, examines a drawing held by Matthew
Pratt, This picture depicts a scene in West's London studio.
The identities of the other artists portrayed in the picture
remains uncertain. See West's self-portrait below.
Henry Fuseli (English, born Switzerland,
1741-1825), Self-Portrait as a Faun [verso: Head
of a Woman Three-Quarters to Left ], pencil
and chalk on paper, 32.2 x 42.7 cm, Tate Gallery,
London. See drawing
and Romanticism.
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (French,
1749-1803), Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Mademoiselle Marie
Gabrielle Capet (1761-1818) and Mademoiselle Carreaux de Rosemond
(died 1788), 1785, oil
on canvas, 83 x 59 1/2
inches (210.8 x 151.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Louise-Elizabeth Vigée-Lebrun (French,
1755-1842), Self-Portrait, oil
on canvas, oval,
25 1/4 x 21 inches (64.1 x 53.3 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art,
NY. See feminism and feminist art.
Léopold Boilly (French, 1761-1845),
Grimacing Man (Self-Portrait), c. 1822-23, conté
crayons on paper, collection
of Karen B. Cohen. See caricature,
expression, and Neoclassicism.
Marie-Denise Villers (French, 1774-1821),
Young Woman Drawing, 1801, oil
on canvas, 63 1/2 x 50
5/8 inches (161.3 x 128.6 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Although it is not known for certain if this is a self-portrait,
it might be. See Neoclassicism.
Copy after Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
(French, 19th century), Ingres (1780-1867) as a Young Man, oil on canvas,
34 x 27 1/2 inches (86.4 x 69.9 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art,
NY. See Neoclassicism.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905),
Self-Portrait,
1879, oil on canvas,
46.5 x 38.5 cm.
Camille Pissarro (French, 1830-1903), Self-Portrait, 1903, oil
on canvas, 41.0 x 33.3
cm, Tate Gallery, London. See Impressionism.
Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917),
Self-Portrait, about 1857-1858, oil
on paper,
laid down on canvas, 8
1/8 x 6 1/2 inches (20.6 x 15.9 cm), J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu,
CA. See Impressionism.
John La Farge (American, 1835-1910), Portrait of the Painter, 1859, oil
on wood panel,
16 1/16 x 11 1/2 inches (40.8 x 29.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum
of Art, NY.
Henri [Ignace-Henri-Jean-Théodore]
Fantin-Latour (French, 1836-1904), Self-Portrait, 1860, oil
on canvas, 31.4 x 254 cm,
Tate Gallery, London. See Batignolles Group.
Paul Cézanne (French, 1839-1906),
Self-Portrait
in a Beret (Autoportrait au béret), 1898-1900,
oil on canvas,
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. See beret,
Impressionism,
and Post-Impressionism.
Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926, active
in France), Portrait
of the Artist, 1878, gouache
on wove paper laid down
to buff-colored wood pulp paper, 23 5/8 x 16 3/16 inches (60.1
x 41.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See Impressionism and feminist
art.
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844-1916), Self-Portrait, 1902, oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches, National Academy of Design, NY. See realism.
Eugène Carrière (French, 1849-1906),
Self-Portrait, c. 1893, oil
on canvas, 16 1/4 x 12
7/8 inches (41.3 x 32.7 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat; (verso)
The Potato Peeler, oil
on canvas, 16 x 12 1/2
inches (40.6 x 31.8 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), Self-Portrait, 1889, oil
on canvas, 25 1/2 x 21
1/4 inches (65 x 54 cm), Musée d'Orsay, Paris, F 626.
See Post-Impressionism and other
self-portraits by van Gogh.
Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903), Portrait of the Artist with the Idol, c. 1893, oil on canvas, 17 1/4 x 12 7/8 inches (43.8 x 32.7 cm), McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, TX.
Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait, c. 1893-1894, [210 k,]
oil on canvas,
18 1/8 x 15 inches (46 x 38 cm), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. See
Post-Impressionism.
Edvard Much (Norwegian, 1863-1944), Self-Portrait, 1895, lithograph, 45 x 32 cm, Tehran Museum
of Contemporary Art, Iran. See Expressionism.
Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867-1947), Self-Portrait in the Bathroom Mirror,
1939-1945, oil on canvas,
73 x 51 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris. See Intimisme
and mirror.
Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867-1945). See Expressionism and feminism and feminist art.
John Sloan (American, 1871-1951), Self-Portrait, Working,
1916, oil, Windsor & Newton Copal Varnish, wax finish on canvas, Hood Museum, Dartmout Collebe, VT. See Ashcan School and The Eight.
Lewis Wickes Hine (American, New York, 1874-1940),
Self-Portrait with Newsboy, 1908, gelatin
silver print, 5 7/16 x 4 21/32 inches (13.9 x 11.8 cm), J. Paul
Getty Museum, Malibu, CA. See photography.
Paula Modersohn-Becker (German, 1876-1907),
Self-Portrait, Half-Figure with Amber Necklace
II (Selbstbildnis als Halbakt mit Bernsteinkette II),
Summer of 1906, oil on
canvas, 61 x 50 cm, Kunstmuseum,
Basel, Switzerland. See Expressionism,
feminism and feminist art, and
German art.
James Montgomery Flagg (American, 1877-1960),
I Want You for U.S. Army, 1917, chromolithograph,
39 1/2 x 29 1/8 inches (100.4 x 73.8 cm), National Museum of
American Art. Flagg's version of Uncle Sam is a self-portrait. This poster was used for recruitment during
World War I and again during World War II. See icon.
André Derain (French, 1880-1954), Portrait of the Artist, about 1912-1914, oil on canvas, 45 3/4 x 35 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts. See Fauvism and Cubism.
Hans Hofmann (American, 1880-1966), Self-Portrait with Brushes, casein on plywood, 1942, André Emmerich Gallery, New York City.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1972), Self-Portrait, 1899-1900, charcoal on paper, Museo Picasso, Barcelona.
Pablo Picasso, Self-Portrait: Yo Picasso, 1901, oil on canvas, private collection. It sold for $47 million in 1989, a sum second only to the $53.9 fetched by van Gogh's Irises. Picasso painted numerous self-portraits.
Pablo Picasso, Self-Portrait, 1907, oil on canvas, National Gallery, Prague.
Stanislaw Ignacy (Witkacy) Witkiewicz (Polish,
1885-1939), Self-Portrait, 1927, pastel
on paper, 65.0 x 49.0 cm, Galeria
Witkacego. See Polish art.
Paul Manship (American, 1886-1966), Self-Portrait, 1906-1907, National Museum
of American Art, Washington, D.C. See Art Deco.
Ivan Le Lorraine Albright (American, 1897-1983), Self-Portrait in Georgia, 1967, 1967-68, oil on panel, 20 X 16 inches (50.80 x 40.64 cm), Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH. See grotesque.
John Steuart Curry (American, 1897-1946),
Self-Portrait, 1928, charcoal,
conté crayon and
pencil on paper,
sheet: 25 5/16 x 19 3/8 inches (64.3 x 49.1 cm), National Museum
of American Art.
M.C. (Maurits Cornelis) Escher (Dutch, 1898-1972),
Self-Portrait, 1922, woodcut. See optical
illusion and tessellation.
M.C. (Maurits Cornelis) Escher, Self-Portrait, 1929, lithograph.
Raphael Soyer (American, 1899-1987),
Self-Portrait, 1950,
oil on canvas, 24 1/2 x 20 1/8 inches, National Academy of Design, NY. See Jewish art.
Herbert Bayer (Austrian, 1900-1985, worked in USA), Self-Portrait in Mirror, 1932, gelatin-silver print, 13 7/16 x 9 3/4 inches (34.13 x 24.77 cm). See mirror, photography, and Surrealism.
William Henry Johnson (American, 1901-1970), Self-Portrait, 1929, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C. See Harlem Renaissance.
Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907-1954), My
Grandparents, My Parents, and I (Family Tree), 1936,
oil and tempera
on metal panel,
12 1/8 x 13 5/8 inches (30.7 x 34.5 cm), Museum of Modern Art,
NY. See feminism and feminist art.
See feminism and feminist art
and Mexican art.
Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky,
1937, oil on board, 30
x 24 inches, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington,
DC.
Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, 1940,
oil on canvas,
15 3/4 x 11 inches (40 x 27.9 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
Balthus (born Balthasar Klossowski de Rola)
(French, 1908-2001), The Painter and His Model, 1980-1981,
casein and tempera
on canvas, 226.5 x 230.5
cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris. See model.
Lee Krasner (American, 1908-1984), Self-Portrait, c. 1930, oil
on linen, 30 1/8 x 25
1/8 inches, Estate of Lee Krasner. See Abstract Expressionism and feminism
and feminist art.
Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917-2000), Self-Portrait, 1977, gouache on paper, 22 1/8 x 30 inches, National Academy of Design, NY. See African American art.
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), Self-Portrait, 1979, instant color print, 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 inches), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Andy Warhol, Last Self-Portrait, 1986, acrylic and silkscreen on canvas, 80 x 80 inches (203.2 x 203.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Claes Oldenburg (American, born Sweden, 1929-), Self-Portrait, 1958, lithographic crayon on paper, 11 3/4 x 9 inches (29.8 x 22.8 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
Daniel Spoerri (Swiss, 1930-), Daniel Isaac Spoerri-Feinstein, 1977,
lithograph
on paper, 89.0 x 59.6 cm, Tate
Gallery, London. The subject: the pages of the artist's well-used
passport. See Fluxus.
Peter Blake (English, 1932-), Self-Portrait with Badges, 1961, oil on board, 1743 x 1219
mm, Tate Gallery, London. See English
art and Pop
Art.
Gerhard Richter (German, 1932-), Self-Portrait, Three Times, 24.1.90,
1990, oil on photograph, 50.0 x 60.0 cm, Tate Gallery,
London. See German art.
Chuck Close (American, 1940-), Study for Self-Portrait, 1968, gelatin-silver print, ink, pencil, and pressure-sensitive tape on board, 18 5/8 x 13 3/8 inches (47.2 x 33.9 cm). See
Photo-Realism.
Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 1997, color instant print (Polaroid) mounted on foam core with tape, ink, felt-tipped pen, graphite and oil paint on board, 36 x 24 inches (91.2 x 61 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 1997, oil on canvas, 8 feet 6 inches x 7 feet (259.1 x 213.4 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
Yolanda López (American, 1942-), Portrait of the Artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe, 1978, oil pastel on paper, 32 x 24 inches, collection of the artist. See Chicana art and feminism and feminist art.
"Gilbert and George" Gilbert Proesch
and George Passmore (English, 1943- and 1942-), A Portrait of the Artists as Young Men,
1972, video
installation, Tate Gallery,
London. See collaboration.
Gary Hill (American, 1951-), Inasmuch as it is Always Already Taking Place, 1990, 16 channel video installation (NTSC, black-and-white, sound) with 16 modified video monitors, synchronizer, and niche, collection of the artist. Sixteen picture tubes in various sizes are loosely arrayed in a jumble, and housed within a deep horizontal alcove at chest level. Each screen displays an image of a portion of the artist's body -- an upturned ear, a curled spine, a heaving chest -- magnified and bathed in a soft, blue glow. The spare movements of each bodily fragment are accompanied by the gentle sounds of rustling paper, hushed phrases, and the rubbing of skin, repeating endlessly in a closed loop.
Montien Boonma (Thai, 1953-2000), Self-Portrait:
A Man Who Admires Thai Art, 1982, photograph
altered with decorative
patterns drawn
in colored ink. "The results
transform his image
into a traditional Thai
theater mask while also giving it
a smirky, challenging version of the welcoming "Siamese
smile" of tourist industry cliché,"
said Holland Carter, New York Times, Feb. 21, 2003.
Nan Goldin (American, 1953-), Nan one month after being battered, 1984,
photograph on paper,
69.5 x 101.5 cm, Tate Gallery, London. See feminist
art and Jewish art.
Nan Goldin, Self-Portrait on the train, Germany,
1992, photograph on paper, 69.5 x 101.5 cm, Tate Gallery, London.
Cindy Sherman (American, 1954-), Untitled A, 1975, photograph on paper, 41.4 x 28.3 cm, Tate Gallery,
London. Since the mid-1970s, Sherman has photographed herself,
not to make self-portraits, but to picture herself posing as
characters she has invented. She has made many series of such
photos, in which she has transformed
herself through the use of cosmetics,
costumes,
hairstyles, body language and facial expressions. See model.
Cindy Sherman, Untitled B, 1975, photograph on paper, 41.8 x 28.2 cm, Tate Gallery,
London.
Cindy Sherman, Untitled D, 1975, photograph on paper, 41.4 x 28.4 cm, Tate Gallery,
London.
Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1982, photograph on paper, 115.0 x 76.0 cm, Tate Gallery,
London.
Tony Oursler (American, 1957-), MMPI (Self-Portrait in Yellow), 1996,
video installation with video projector,
VCR, video tape, small cloth figure
and metal chair, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI. MMPI stands for the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a diagnostic tool
developed in the 1950s as a test for mental health. It is based
on the discovery that individuals with similar mental disorders
frequently answer the same questions in similar ways. A projection
of the artist's head is seen pinned beneath the overturned chair,
as he answers one of the test's questions after another.
Tim Hawkinson (American, 1960-), Balloon Self-Portrait, 2004?, latex sculpture, life size cast from the artist's body, turned inside out, then inflated by an air compressor, Ace Gallery, NYC.
Sandra Scolnik (American, 1968-), Self-Portrait, Undeveloped, 2000, oil on wood panel,
15 x 14 3/4 inches, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas
City, MO.
Also see ala and alar groove, bust, imagines, philtrum, portrait, septum, and statue.
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