selfportraits

Self-portraits are artworks in which the artist depicts themselves, either directly or through symbolic or stylized representation. They span media including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and performance. Across cultures, self-portraiture can serve as self-examination, a record of appearance at a given time, or social commentary.

Historically, self-portraits emerged in medieval and early modern Europe as religious or devotional images; by the Renaissance, artists used self-portraits to study anatomy and to establish their reputations. Albrecht Dürer’s self-portraits in the late 15th and early 16th centuries established a template of self-representation. Rembrandt’s late 17th-century self-portraits are noted for psychological depth and changing age. In the 19th century, painters like Vincent van Gogh produced numerous self-portraits; the medium later expanded to photography, allowing self-portraiture outside painting and broadening its accessibility.

In contemporary practice, self-portraits often examine identity, gender, race, illness, or power dynamics. Photographers and artists use technique and staging, makeup, lighting, and digital manipulation to explore persona. Notable figures include Frida Kahlo, who embedded personal pain and identity in her self-portraits; Cindy Sherman, who uses costumes and personas to question representation; Yasumasa Morimura, who frequently appropriates famous works; and other artists who blend documentary and performance. Self-portraiture can function as memoir, critique, or a test of technique.

Ethics and interpretation: Self-portraits reveal how artists see themselves and want to be seen, yet the constructed nature invites critical reading about vanity, identity, and representation. The genre remains active in galleries, museums, and online platforms.