Self-portraits

Me, myself, and I

The history of the self-portrait

The self as a subject is one of the most fascinating and fruitful of artistic enterprises. This collection brings together some of the best examples of self-portraiture from the 15th century to the present day to explore the genre's evolution over the centuries as well as the enduring questions of selfhood and self-representation that have besieged human experience for centuries before social media and the selfie.

Is a self-portrait of an artist a medium of reflection ? Or is it merely a black void, the « false mirror, » as the Surrealist René Magritte entitled his 1928 painting of an eye ? How much does it impart about contemporary notions of beauty, power, and status ? From Albrecht Dürer to Egon Schiele, Fra Filippo Lippi to Frida Kahlo, this farreaching collection explores the numerous ways in which artists have taken themselves as subjects, the variety of ingenious methods and perspectives they have used, and the intriguing questions raised by their work.

« I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best. »
- Frida Kahlo