Self-portrait

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Image:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 132.jpg Image:Velazquez-Meninas.jpg Image:Durer self portarit 28.jpg Image:Sandro Botticelli 085.jpg

For other uses, see Self-portrait (disambiguation).

A self-portrait is a portrait where the artist is also the subject. Usually it is in the form of a painting, drawing, or similar graphic image; however, self-portraits occur in other media such as sculpture, photography, cinema, literature, etc.; the latter portion of this list moves more toward what would commonly be called autobiography. Sometimes artists place their own image into group portraits, such as Diego Velázquez in Las Meninas. Some artists use likeness of themselves to portray other characters: the entire œuvre of photographer Cindy Sherman is in this mode. Some artists who suffered neurological diseases left self-portraits of themselves that have allowed later physicians to analyze disruptions of mental proccesses; and many of these analyses have entered into the textbooks of neurology.

1 A possible taxonomy
2 Antiquity
3 Renaissance
4 Post-Impressionism
5 Recent
6 Photoportraits
7 Self portraits of well known writers
8 Diagnostics on the self-portrait
9 Literature

[edit] A possible taxonomy

Art critic Galina Vasilyeva-Shlyapina (Г.Л.Васильева-Шляпина) 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" ("вставной") 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" ("представительский, или символический") self-portrait, where an artist depicts him- or herself in the guise of a historical person or religious hero; (3) the "group portrait" ("групповой портрет"), where artist is depicted with members of family or other real persons; (4) the "separate or natural" ("отдельный или естественный") self-portrait, where the artist is depicted alone.

[edit] Antiquity

Images of artists at work are encountered in Ancient Egyptian painting, and also on Ancient Greek vases. One of first mentions of the self-portrait of a specific artist is encountered in the writings of the Ancient Greek philosopher and biographer Plutarch, who writes that the Ancient Greek sculptor Phidias had included a likeness of himself in a number of characters in the composition "Battle of the Amazons" in the Parthenon. The battle of the Greeks with the Amazons was carved on the panel of the statue of Athena, and also on the western wall of the temple.

[edit] Renaissance

Image:Possible Self-Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.jpg

Italian painter and architect Giotto di Bondone (1267—1337) included himself in the cycle of "eminent men" in the Castle of Naples.

Italian painter Masaccio (1401—1428) depicted himself as one of the apostles in the painting of the Brancacci Chapel.

Tuscan painter Sandro Botticelli (1447—1515) makes himself the hero of the Adoration of the Magi.

The best known image of Leonardo da Vinci many researchers^{[citation needed]} consider his only self-portrait, a late work. However, other art critics^{[citation needed]} contend that the attribution of this work as Leonardo's own is not completely proven. A case has also been made, originally by novelist Dmitry Merezhkovsky, that Leonardo based his famous picture Mona Lisa on his own self-portrait.

Both Raphael, and Michelangelo depicted themselves. It is assumed that Michelangelo gave a likeness of his own face to the image of the flayed skin of St. Bartholomew in The Last Judgment at the Sistine Chapel.

Titian's The Allegory of Age Governed by Prudence (c. 1565-70) is thought to depict Titian, his son Orazio, and a young cousin, Marco Vecellio. In the opinion of critics, this has a deep philosophical content.^{[citation needed]} Titian also painted a late self-portrait in the year 1566.

Albrecht Dürer executed more than fifty self-portraits. The first (drawn in silver pencil) was created when he was thirteen years old. At age twenty-two Dürer composed the self-portrait with carnation (1493, Louvre). The Madrid self-portrait (1498, Prado) depicts Durer as a person of solid abundance, who has attained renown. In another self-portrait, the artist depicted himself in the guise of Jesus Christ (Munich, Alte Pinakothek).

Rembrandt executed a large number of self-portraits as well. At one time were about 90 pictures were counted as Rembrandt self-portraits. However, analysis showed that 20 of these "self-portraits" were, in reality, executed by other artists. Rejected, for example, was the "self-portrait" acquired by a Stuttgart gallery in 1962. Recently discovered was the smallest self-portrait of Rembrandt, which is eight inches in height and about seven inches wide.

[edit] Post-Impressionism

Image:VanGogh-self-portrait-with bandaged ear.jpg

Van Gogh made more than twenty self-portraits in only two years. Among the most prolific self-portraitists was Frida Kahlo, who depicted herself 55 times.

[edit] Recent

[edit] Photoportraits

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. Eleazar Langman photographed his reflection on the surface of a nickel-plated teapot.

[edit] Self portraits of well known writers

Image:PushkinCoin.jpg

The great Russian poets Alexandr Pushkin, and Mikhail Lermontov sketched portraits of themselves.

[edit] Diagnostics on the self-portrait

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.

Image:Egon Schiele 073.jpg

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 sexuality, and particularly pedophilia.

[edit] Literature

[edit] Art history

((Russian) Г. Л. Васильева-Шляпина. Автопортретный жанр в мировом изобразительном искусстве. Вестник КрасГУ. PDF).

[edit] Psychology of self-perception

Wegner DM (2003) The mind’s self-portrait. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1001: 212—225. Автопортрет личности. 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.
(Russian) И. С. Кон ОТКРЫТИЕ «Я» (Историко-психологический этюд), журнал «Новый Мир» 1977, N8. Позднее автор вернулся к этой теме в своей книге «В поисках себя (личность и ее самосознание)», М., Политиздат, 1984 .

[edit] 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. Посмотрите, как они рисуют: диагностика детей по рисункам людей. 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. Гемиплегия после инсульта и зеркальное изображение: уроки, почерпнутые из автопортретов. 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.