Self-portraits
Vase of Lilacs, Roses, and Tulips
Gustave Courbet
French, 1819-1877
Oil on canvas
Both of these paintings were done by the same person. I don’t
know about you, but I’m much more interested in the self portrait.
Why do you think that is?
What do you want to know about the artist?
Throughout time and by all reflective
individual we as human ask ourselves…
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•
•
•
•
Who am I?
What are the distinctive things that make me "me"?
How do I want people to see me?
How can I express my many different sides?
How can I reinvent myself for various purposes or times
in my life?
• How am I changing from day to day or year to year?
• Who do I want to become?
Artists…
Since the fifteenth century and the advent of the
mirror have modeled for themselves in their own
works of art. Whether it is an in-depth exploration
of the artist’s own psyche or simply because as a
model, the artist is clearly the cheapest and most
available. Whatever the reason, nearly every artist,
in every medium from painters to sculptors have
attempted this exploration of self.
Jean Fouquet (French, c. 1420 -c. 1477-1481), SelfPortrait, c. 1450 enamel on copper
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
Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait,
c. 1555, oil on parchment, 3 1/4 x 2
1/2 inches (8.2 x 6.3 cm),
Self Portrait
as. . . Artist
as. . .
Character
Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as a Lute Player,
ca. 1615–17
Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the
Allegory of Painting, ca. 1638
Judith Leyster
Self Portrait
1633
Diego Velázquez (Diego
Rodríguez de Silva y
Velázquez) (Spanish, 15991660), The Family of Philip
IV, or "The Maids of Honor
(Las Meninas)", c.
1656, oil on canvas, (318 x
276 cm), Prado Museum,
Madrid.
• Balthus (born Balthasar Klossowski de
Rola) (French, 1908-2001), The Painter
and His Model, 1980-1981
• Lee Krasner (American, 1908-1984), SelfPortrait, c. 1930, oil on linen
Detail from "The Last Judgement" by
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Vatican
Museum, Vatican City, Rome, Italy.
Michelangelo’s self-portrait
as Nicodemus in the Duomo
Pietá, Florence
• James
Montgomery Flagg
(American, 18771960), I Want You
for U.S. Army,
1917,
• Flagg's version of
Uncle Sam is
a self-portrait.
Self Portrait and. . .
Aging
Albrecht Durer, Self-portrait age 22, 1493
Albrecht Durer, Self-portrait age 26, 1498 Albrecht Durer, Self-portrait age 28,1500
Rembrandt Harmensz.
van Rijn (Dutch, 16061669)
Self-Portrait at TwentyTwo , 1628, oil on panel,
Self portrait, 1661
Self portrait, 1657
Edgar Degas
Self Portrait 1907
Pablo Picasso, Self
Portrait 1896
Self Portrait with Cloak 1901
Self Portrait 1907
Camille Pissarro
Self Portrait, 1873
Camille Pissarro (French, 1830-1903), Self
Portrait, 1903, oil on canvas, 41.0 x 33.3 cm
Color creates mood and tone
Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin
(French, 1699-1779), SelfPortrait in Spectacles,
1771, pastel, on bluegray paper over canvas
Self Portrait and. . .
Expression
Léopold Boilly (French,
1761-1845), Grimacing
Man (Self-Portrait), c.
1822-23, conté
crayons on paper
Self Portrait and. . .
Expressionism
• Egon Schiele was an
Austrian Expressionist
painter having studied
at the Vienna Academy
of Fine Arts and
meeting artist Gustav
Klimt, Schiele went on
to produce expressive
work. Egon died from
Spanish influenza in
1918, aged 28.
•Self-Portrait with Lowered Head,
1912 by Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait, 1910
Self Portrait and. . .
Adornment
(which can)
– tell a story
– show a time period
– represent personal preferences
– show a specific activity or career
Paul Cezanne
Self Portrait In A White Cap
Self Portrait with Beret
Mary Cassatt.
Self-Portrait.
c.1880Watercolor on
paper
Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), SelfPortrait with a Straw Hat
Self-portrait with bandaged ear and
pipe, 1889
Self-portrait without Beard, 1889
Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear
Vincent Van Gogh
•Vincent van Gogh (Dutch,
1853-1890), Self-Portrait with a
Straw Hat
• Stanislaw Ignacy (Witkacy) Witkiewicz (Polish, 18851939), Self-Portrait, 1927,pastel on paper
Witkiewicz, self-portrait in pastel, 1938
• Montien Boonma (Thai, 1953-2000), SelfPortrait: A Man Who Admires Thai Art,
1982, photograph altered
with decorative patterns drawn in colored ink.
Susan Coffey
Self Portrait and. . .
Color
Paul Gauguin – Self-portrait with Halo, 1889
Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait, c. 18931894, oil on canvas
Pierre Bonnard. Self-Portrait. c. 1889. Tempera on canvas.
•Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867-1947), Self-Portrait
in the Bathroom Mirror, 1939-1945, oil on canvas
André Derain (French, 18801954), Portrait of the Artist, about
1912-1914, oil on canvas
•Paula Modersohn-Becker
(German, 1876-1907), SelfPortrait, Half-Figure with
Amber Necklace II
(Selbstbildnis als Halbakt mit
Bernsteinkette II)
• Xenia Hausner, All of Me, mixed media,
2008. Courtesy: Forum Gallery.
Catherine Kehoe
The face I deserve, 2002
oil on panel 8"x8"
SP in orange
2010
oil on board
6"x4"
Self Portrait and. . .
Symbolism
Frida Kahlo July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954
Frida Kahlo
Symbolism:
Irony of Luck: Hummingbirds are a
traditional Mexican symbol of Luck
Christianity: Crown of thorns as necklace
Rebirth/Resurrection: Dragonflies and
Butterflies
Political opinion of feminism:
Exaggerated mustache and Monobrow
Self Portrait with Thorn
Necklace and Hummingbird,
1940
Self Portrait and. . .
Photorealism
Chuck Close, Self-Portrait , 1997
oil on canvas 102 x 84”
Chuck Close, Self-Portrait , 2004-2005
oil on canvas 102 x 86”
Self Portrait and. . .
Point of View
Jenny Saville
Closed Contact
Self Portrait
Self Portrait and. . .
Texture
Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Reflection Self-portrait
1985
Oil on Canvas
Lucian Freud’s Self Portrait:
Reflection (2002)
Self Portrait and. . .
The Mentor
Artist
Kehinde Wiley
Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon
Self portrait after Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon.
Elizabeth Peyton
Elizabeth Peyton, Georgia (After Stieglitz 1918),
2006, monotype on
handmade paper, 30 x 22 inches
Alfred Stieglitz (January 1, 1864
– July 13, 1946) was an
American photographer and
modern art promoter who was
instrumental over his fifty-year
career in making photography an
accepted art form
Ice T, Kehinde Wiley
Sir Luke Fildes
[English Painter, 1843-1927]
Portrait of King Edward VII
Dutch portrait
Rap Artist,
Charles Hamilton
Triple Portrait of
Charles I , 2007
Oil and enamel on
three canvases
Kehinde Wiley
Cindy Sherman
• Since the mid-1970s, Sherman has
photographed herself, not to make selfportraits, 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.
Cindy Sherman, Self-portrait
Caravaggio, Self-Portrait as Sick Bacchus, 1593
Cindy Sherman
Untitled #228
1990
Sandro Botticelli
Judith Leaving the Tent of Holofernes, 1495-1500
Steve Breerwood
Zoning After Millet
2006
Oil on Canvas
52 x 67.5 inches
Jean-Francois Millet
(1814-1875)
The Gleaners
1857
Oil on Canvas
110 x 84 cm
Websites to Check Out for
Research:
• National Portrait Gallery
– http://www.npg.si.edu/
• Artlex on Self Portraits
– http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/s/selfportrait.html
• Contemporary Artists
– http://the-artists.org/
From left to right
Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of Cecilia Gallarani (Lady with an Ermine) 1489
James C. Christensen, Lady with Poppies 1990
Zuzana Stanková, Dama, 2001
How does Leonardo influence the following
two artists?
Research:
1. Artist’s Biography.
2. Who/what are they influenced by? What is their work
about?
3. How do they work? What materials do they use?
What size do they work in? How do they get their
ideas?
4. Why have you chosen this artist? What are some
ways you can incorporate their work into your selfportrait?
5. Create a minimum of two sketches of this artist’s
work in color. Prints of their work will also be useful.
Thumbnails
Minimum of 4 thumbnails (2x3inches)
-Include accurate depiction of the self from the
mirror.
-Value and Color show form and create mood or
idea.
-Evidence of influence from mentor artists in
style and subject matter.
-Include a written explanation (notes/shorthand
is fine) for the following:
1. What is this self portrait exploring about
you? (refer back to the series of questions
you answered about yourself)
2. How is it influenced by your mentor(s)?
Sketch one of these
portraits to draw. What
are the similarities and
differences between
these portraits?
Max Ernst
Francis Bacon
Gala Eluard
3 studies of a self portrait
Alphonse Mucha
Joan of Arc
Underpainting:
It's chief value is in creating
luminescence in the painting,
since light reflects through it
from the back of the canvas;
and also for uniting color
values in the overall painting
by adding a subjective
dominant color key.
J.W. Waterhouse
Tonal underpainting in two contrasting
tones.
These under-paintings are in contrasting
colors to separate the figure from the
background. The background is underpainted with Raw Umber, and then
some Sap Green at the top.
The dress is painted with Cadmium Red.
Under-Painted layer
Next layer painted on
top
Tonal Ground
The entire canvas has a single
transparent color evenly applied
showing through as the shadow color to
the painting. This creates luminescent
shadows, and tones the entire
composition.
Under-Painted layer
Next layer painted on
top
Tonal Under-Painting
Contrast only has been painted with
a single transparent color: Can be done
using tempera.
Under-Painted layer
Next layer painted on
top
Color-Block Under-Painting
Contrast only is painted, but with
the local color of each object or area. This
also gives you the bright highlights and
jump on developing form, but you can use
color composition instead of tonal unity.
1. Choosing the hue of the underpainting should first take into
consideration the overall emotion to be expressed.
2. It is good to think about how to color contrast shadows with the
rest of the color scheme to make the objects pop out. (which helps
to create a sense of depth)
3. OR how to make backgrounds blend in such as foliage or
background that you want to create an impression of, but
don't want to paint in detail.
Lucian Freud
.
List everything you
know about
achieving a likeness.
Lucian Freud’s Self Portrait:
Reflection (2002)
• Get the proportions right
• Use good lighting – helps make the face appear
3-Dimensional
• Check for subtle differences:
– The shape and tilt of the eyes
– The width, shape and tilt of the nose
– The lips wrap around the teeth and are the correct
thickness or thinness
– The jawline ins the correct shape
– The hair line is the right height
• Treat the hair as a mass, not single strands
• LOOK FOR COLOR!
• COLOR!!!
• That’s right. .. COLOR
Objective: Using a
variety of artistic
behaviors:
Artist mentors
Thumbnail sketches
(visual brainstorming)
Verbal self-questioning
Students will compose a
self portrait that captures
a likeness, and explores
personal meaning.
Criteria – Self-portrait
• /20 Likeness: Carefully attention to size relationships, and
awareness of subtle differences results in a good likeness
• /20 Value: Good choices in lighting and careful observation of
value shapes create a sense of the light falling on and defining the
form
• /20 Mood/ Meaning: created through artistic choices, mark
making, point of view and use of space and values, and
incorporation of ideas and concepts from mentor artist.
• /20 Composition: The whole page is considered. No unplanned
for or dead space. The use of the elements of art and the principles
of design create a unified composition.
• /20 Craftsmanship: Materials and techniques are used in a
purposeful and artful way, with careful attention to detail .
Describe both the successes and challenges that you encountered as you
were working, site specific examples from your work.
Why does it work?
Why and how would you change areas less successful?
What benefits did you reap from first exploring options through the exploration
of a mentor artist? How did you incorporate the use of a mentor artist into
your work?
What new discoveries or awareness will you carry forward into your next
piece?