A self-portrait is a portrait of an artist made by themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in 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 portrait, many painters, sculptors and printmakers tried some form of self-portraiture. Portrait of a Man in a Turban by Jan van Eyck 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.
76-468: The Honeysuckle Bower is a self-portrait of the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens and his first wife Isabella Brant , executed c. 1609.The couple is seated in fine clothes within a garden composition and a vine of honeysuckle is placed overhead. The symbolism of the double-portrait alludes to meanings of love and marriage, such as the holding of right hands (dextrarum iunctio), and
152-471: 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 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
228-493: A bathhouse and a drawing show virtually nude self-portraits. 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
304-483: 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. The self-portrait supposes in theory the use of a mirror ; glass mirrors became available in Europe in
380-450: 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. Almost all significant women painters have left self-portraits, from Caterina van Hemessen to
456-502: 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
532-555: 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 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,
608-499: 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. 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
684-461: A letter to Pierre Dupuy in July of 1626 about this profound loss: “... Truly I have lost an excellent companion, whom one could love - indeed had to love, with good reason - as having none of the faults of her sex. She had no capricious moods, and no feminine weak: ness, but was all goodness and honesty. And because of her virtues she was loved during her lifetime, and mourned by all at her death. Such
760-432: A loss seems to me worthy of deep feeling, and since the true remedy for all ills is Forgetfulness, daughter of Time, I must without doubt look to her for help. But I find it very hard to separate grief for this loss from the memory of a person whom I must love and cherish as long as I live…” Other important historical contexts contributed to the meaning of this double portrait, including the popular art theories and books at
836-423: 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 , both as paintings and prints, made clear
SECTION 10
#1732773074851912-550: 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. Images of artists at work are encountered in Ancient Egyptian painting, and sculpture and also on Ancient Greek vases . One of
988-442: A painted terracotta bust of himself (c. 1573). Titian 's Allegory of Prudence (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 's La Pittura (Self-portrait as the allegory of painting) presents herself embodying the classical allegorical representation of Painting, seen in
1064-564: 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. Pierre Dupuy (scholar) Pierre Dupuy ( French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ dypɥi] ; 27 November 1582 – 14 December 1651), otherwise known as Puteanus ,
1140-406: A profound impact on Rubens and through his loss he created an posthumous portrait. The painting is a full-length double portrait of the couple seated in a bower (wikt), also called an arbor of honeysuckle . The couple is dressed in fine clothing of an aristocratic class within this portrait while also maintaining a casual and adoring pose. They are surrounded by love and marriage symbolism:
1216-724: 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 , 1554. Albrecht Dürer was an artist highly conscious of his public image and reputation, whose main income came from his old master prints , 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 altarpieces . The earliest
1292-426: 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
1368-489: A typical symbol found in paintings in the time of Rubens. The Garden of Love was a popular literary concept and symbol around the same time that the painting was created. The initial concept may have come from symbols of paradise that were present in medieval cloister gardens. Another element that may have influenced this was Roman de la Rose , as well as the role of the garden in aristocratic society. In these scenes, women depicted as objects of admiration by their suitors and
1444-438: 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
1520-475: Is a silverpoint 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 . 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
1596-423: 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
SECTION 20
#17327730748511672-694: Is preserved in the original and in copy in the Bibliothèque Nationale , and transcriptions are in the national archives in Paris, at the record office in London,and elsewhere. Dupuy's classification is still regarded with respect, but the inventory has been partially replaced by the publication of the Layettes du trésor (four volumes, coming down to 1270; 1863–1902). Dupuy also published, with his brother Jacques, and their friend Nicolas Rigault ,
1748-574: Is seated on the ground and recalls the Madonna of Humility , thus constructing an image as a virtuous wife. At the same time, the pose that Rubens constructs Isabella in also displays his attention to her and his overall devotion as a husband. They wed on 3 October 1609, in St. Michael's Abbey, Antwerp , shortly after he had returned to the city after eight years in Italy. Rubens was thirty-two and Isabella Brant
1824-474: 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 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
1900-641: The History of Aug. de Thou (1620, 1626). The two brothers then bought from Rigault the post of keeper of the king's library, and drew up a catalogue of the library (Nos. 9352-9354 and 10366-10367 of the Latin collection in the Bibliothèque Nationale). In the course of this work, Dupuy became acquainted with and copied an enormous mass of unpublished documents, which furnished him with the material for some excellent works: These works, especially
1976-549: The National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom) in London (with various satellite outstations elsewhere), and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.. 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
2052-744: The Palazzo Medici 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 include self-portraits, and are among the earliest such busts of non-royal figures. Ghiberti included
2128-488: The scholar gentleman tradition are quite small, depicting the artist in a large landscape, illustrating a poem in calligraphy 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. Illuminated manuscripts contain a number of apparent self-portraits, notably those of Saint Dunstan and Matthew Paris . Most of these either show
2204-473: 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 (1972–73). This use of
2280-522: The 1630s to the troubled but massively powerful portraits of his old age. In Spain, there were self-portraits of Bartolomé Estéban Murillo and Diego Velázquez . 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
2356-467: The Gallery of Women painters above. 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,
Honeysuckle Bower - Misplaced Pages Continue
2432-464: 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 ) were depicted using a number of actual persons as models, often including
2508-457: The artist at work, and Jan van Eyck (above) his 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
2584-463: The artist at work, or presenting the finished book to either a donor or a sacred figure, or venerating such a figure. Orcagna is believed to have painted himself as a figure in a fresco of 1359, which became, at least according to art historians — 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
2660-868: 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. 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 , (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 , Pablo Picasso , Lucas Samaras , Jenny Saville , Cindy Sherman , Andy Warhol and Gilbert and George . The self-portrait can be
2736-513: 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 '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 have been especially important. In
2812-426: 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. Many of the medieval portraits show
2888-751: 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. 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
2964-454: 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 , Christ's own "self-portrait" (B.25). A self-portrait in gouache he sent to Raphael has not survived. A woodcut of
3040-472: 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 (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
3116-433: The concept of the garden of love. The pose of the two figures and their fine clothing signify self-fashioning by Rubens. They wed in 1609, the same year that work was created; it was ultimately given to Isabella’s father Jan Brant and would later end up in the collection of Johann Wilhem II of Düsseldorf. The couple would be married for seventeen years, and have three children before Isabella died in 1625. Her death would have
Honeysuckle Bower - Misplaced Pages Continue
3192-427: 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. One of the most famous and most prolific of self-portraitists
3268-511: 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. Caravaggio painted himself in Bacchus at the beginning of his career, then appears in the staffage of some of his larger paintings. Finally,
3344-682: The earliest self-portraits are also two frescos by Johannes Aquila , one in Velemér (1378), western Hungary, and one in Martjanci (1392), northeastern Slovenia. In Italy Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337) included himself in the cycle of "eminent men" in the Castle of Naples, Masaccio (1401–1428) depicted himself as one of the apostles in the painting of the Brancacci Chapel , and Benozzo Gozzoli includes himself, with other portraits, in
3420-511: The famous Arnolfini Portrait (1434), Jan van Eyck is probably one of two figures glimpsed in a mirror – a surprisingly modern conceit. The Van Eyck painting may have inspired Diego Velázquez 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
3496-763: 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 " on the Parthenon , and there are classical references to painted self-portraits, none of which have survived. Self-portraits may have a longer continuous history in Asian (mainly Chinese) art than in Europe. Many in
3572-718: The gallery collection of Johann Wilhelm II von der Pfalz in Düsseldorf . Later on, Honeysuckle Bower and other paintings by Rubens in the Düsseldorf Collection were given to the Alte Pinakothek museum in Munich as a form of inheritance in 1805. Self-portrait By the Baroque period, most artists with an established reputation at least left drawings of themselves. Printed portraits of artists had
3648-448: The garden is full of joyfulness and music. In this painting Rubens and Isabella join their rights hands in an act of Dextrarum iunctio. Dextrarum iunctio was the ceremony of joining the right hands of a couple together, and it has ancient Roman origins . This symbol most likely referred to the idea of harmony within the marriage of Rubens and Isabella. Additionally, Rubens depicts himself as an aristocratic gentleman with his left hand on
3724-408: The head of Goliath held by David (1605–10, Galleria Borghese ) is Caravaggio's own. In the 17th century, 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
3800-526: The hilt of his sword. The sword is an important piece in Ruben’s noble portrayal here, since the carrying of a sword was a symbol only permitted to those of the elite class. Rubens gained permission when he became the court painter for governors of the Netherlands . The symbols found within the artwork point to self-fashioning by Rubens, because of the aristocratic portrayal and symbolism. This can be seen in
3876-532: The honeysuckle and garden are both traditional symbols of love, and the holding of right hands ( junctio dextrarum ) represents union through marriage. The honeysuckle plant has had various meanings over the years. Most notably, the meaning that is still associated with the flower, began in the Middle Ages . The overall qualities that the honeysuckle plant symbolized was the idea of lasting pleasure; it also had meanings of steadfastness and permanence. This became
SECTION 50
#17327730748513952-520: The last, are important contributions to the history of the relations of church and state in the Middle Ages . They were written from the Gallican standpoint, i.e. in favour of the rights of the crown in temporal and political matters, and this explains the delay in their publication until after Dupuy's death. He wrote also Traité des régences et des majorités des rois de France (1655) and Recueil des droits du roi (1658). Dupuy's papers, preserved in
4028-471: 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
4104-703: The masturbation, but a feeling of solitude . Creations of Schiele are analyzed by other researchers in terms of sexuality , and particularly pedophilia . 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 Leopoldo de' Medici in the second part of the 17th century and has been maintained and expanded until
4180-575: 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 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
4256-443: 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
4332-412: The orange silk stockings , the bejeweled hat on his head, and the collar around his neckline. One detail to note is the unbuttoned collar which signifies a marriage formed through an intellectual match. In her left hand, symbolizing both her gentility and femininity, Isabella holds a fan. The pose of the two figures is more casual and modest compared to the noble clothing that they are wearing. Isabella
4408-521: 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 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 scenes and as Christ . Leonardo da Vinci may have drawn
4484-407: The potential of the form, and must have further encouraged the trend. 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
4560-425: 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
4636-519: The prolific Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun , and Frida Kahlo , as well as Alice Neel , Paula Modersohn-Becker and Jenny Saville 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
SECTION 60
#17327730748514712-411: 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
4788-573: 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 , who gave his face to the skin of St. Bartholomew in the Last Judgement of the Sistine Chapel (1536–1541), and Raphael who
4864-417: 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
4940-404: 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
5016-552: 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
5092-468: The time, mainly, the concept of liefde baart kunst and the use of emblem books in the construction of this painting by Rubens. The idea of topos liefde baart kunst in art was a major component of art theory in the Netherlands at this time. This essentially translates to “love begets art,” meaning that art develops from love; this idea of love is very important in the realm of the artist. This idea
5168-617: 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 , who following
5244-693: Was Vincent van Gogh , who drew and painted himself more than 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
5320-512: Was a French scholar, the son of the humanist and bibliophile Claude Dupuy . He was born on 27 November 1582, in Agen , Aquitaine . In 1615, he was commissioned by Mathieu Molé , first president of the parlement of Paris , to draw up an inventory of the documents which constituted what at that time was known as the Trésor des chartes . This work occupied eleven years. His manuscript inventory
5396-411: Was also an important concept for Rubens and other artists of this period as it symbolized a moral and respectable person. Rubens may have been influenced by a notable and popular emblem book about the “domestication of love,” titled, Amorum Emblemata (1608) by Otto van Veen . Also of note that the author of this emblem book was Rubens’ teacher, and thus had a large influence on him. Amorum Emblemata
5472-433: Was created in multiple-language issues, such as Latin-Italian-French, Latin-English-Italian, Latin-Dutch-French. Each version of the book had essentially the same basic information of mottos and quotations in Latin; also included in these books were the same printed images. While not the first compiler of emblems van Veen, added elements which further extended the popularity of the genre. The central message by van Veen, which
5548-423: Was delivered by Cupid , was the supremacy of love and important of marriage and love. The composition of this piece also pulled from a emblem book, titled Emblematum liber by Andrea Alciato ; specifically, the motto and printed image of In fidem uxorium (conjugal fidelity). The artwork was given to Isabella Brant’s father, Jan Brant after the two married in 1609. Around the 18th-century the painting ended up in
5624-414: Was eighteen at the time, they would go on to have three children together and seventeen years of marriage, before Isabella died in 1625. Most likely she died from the bubonic plague . When Isabella died, Rubens was tremendously impacted and wrote letters and crafted a posthumous portrait of her. Within this portrait, Rubens, gives the lasting message of eternal friendship and love. Rubens remarked in
5700-405: Was expressed as the love of art and or God ; it also combines two types of love, conjugal and erotic . In other words, this concept explored the idea of a muse and model relationship with the artist.This particular artwork by Rubens is one example of this concept illustrated in painting, specifically the idea of the wife or spouse as the model and that relationship in tales. The idea of marriage
5776-408: 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
#850149