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Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe
Albrecht Dürer, 1500. Start with the straight-on pose and the carefully placed hand against the fur. The format recalls images of Christ, while the work’s Latin inscription gives the painter’s own name and age. Dürer claims a solemn format for an individual artist.
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Self-portrait by Judith Leyster
Judith Leyster, about 1630. The painter looks over her shoulder as if you’ve caught her halfway through her work. Her brush and palette, the lace at her neck, and the laughing violinist taking shape on the easel each give a different way into the artist’s professional image.
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Bester I, Mayotte
Zanele Muholi, 2015. Clothespins form a headpiece around the photographer’s direct gaze. Bester was Muholi’s mother, who worked as a domestic worker. By placing ordinary laundry objects where you might expect fine adornment, the self-portrait carries a tribute through something you can see.
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Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird
Frida Kahlo, 1940. Beneath Kahlo’s steady gaze, the thorn necklace draws blood and the hummingbird hangs at its center. The black cat and monkey frame the shoulders. Begin with the precise objects and their placement before trying to pin the picture to a single meaning.
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Self-Portrait (Sofonisba Anguissola, 1554)
Sofonisba Anguissola, 1554. The small book contains an inscription saying she painted herself. Between her plain dark clothing and the way she holds the book out toward us, the composition makes that claim of authorship one of the first things the viewer has a chance to read.
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Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting
Artemisia Gentileschi, about 1638–39. Follow the lifted arm from the curve of the shoulder to the tip of the brush at the edge. The other hand holds the palette. By making herself the allegorical figure of Painting, Gentileschi builds the likeness around the physical work she did.
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Self-Portrait (Rembrandt, 1658)
Rembrandt van Rijn, 1658. Notice how the costume, seated pose, and silver-topped stick give the artist the presence of a ruler. His face holds the wrinkles and irregularities of an aging sitter. The two parts of the image work together to make authority look earned and specific.
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Self-Portrait with Two Pupils
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1785. The satin gown commands attention before you notice the brush, palette, and two students. Marie Gabrielle Capet and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond give the portrait a second subject. Their presence lets Labille-Guiard present herself as a teacher as well as a painter.
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Self-Portrait with Dr Arrieta
Francisco de Goya, 1820. Arrieta supports the painter with one arm and offers him a glass with the other. Look how the doctor’s hands do most of the acting in a picture usually thought of as Goya’s likeness. The painting was a thank-you to the doctor who cared for him.
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The Desperate Man
Gustave Courbet, around 1844–45. The close crop presses two wide eyes and the hands pulling at his hair right up against the picture plane. The Musée d’Orsay places it in a tradition of studies of expression. Seen that way, the artist’s own face becomes material for testing how far a look can go.
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Self-Portrait (Gwen John, 1902)
Gwen John, 1902. Look first at the serious face and the tiny cameo at her throat, then let the bright red pattern of the shirt pull your attention outward. The contrasts between bright clothing, dark shawl, and direct expression let a small painting hold its ground.
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Self-Portrait with Hand on the Forehead
Käthe Kollwitz, 1910. Follow the hand from the knuckles to where the fingertips meet the forehead. The dark texture closes around the face, leaving a few light surfaces to carry the likeness. In this etching and drypoint, the pose tells as much about the sitter as her features.
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Untitled (Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, 1921–22)
Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, 1921–22. A shaved head, dark suit, and direct stare give this photograph the formality of a sitting while loosening the usual gender cues. Look at how little the composition needs beyond the face and clothes to make that effect. MoMA credits both collaborators.
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Self-Portrait in Mirrors
Ilse Bing, 1931. One reflection meets you from behind the Leica while another lets you see Bing’s face in profile. Follow the edges of the two mirrors to see how she assembled both views at once. The apparatus and the person using it share the picture.
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Self Portrait, 1976 (Samuel Fosso)
Samuel Fosso, 1976. The sunglasses, cap, and high-waisted flares suggest a character he has put together for the camera. The studio lights and cloth backdrop stay in the frame. Fosso used frames left over from clients’ sittings to make early portraits like this one, choosing how he would look when he was his own sitter.
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