I ask, «Are self-portraits important or meaningful?» And you might think, «hmm…» But I will tell you that self-portraits are very important to an artist in many ways. One, the obvious one is that it provides a great way to practice technique, composition and the dynamics of light and shadow and colour coordination that paintings need to be good. The other reason, not so obvious is that it provides sort of a psychological snap-shot of the artist. This he needs for self-knowledge and introspection. A self-portrait need not look like the subject, it needs to reflect his mood, feelings, temperament and the state of mental/physical affairs of the subject (you) at the moment the subject (you) paint it.
Here are some of the best self-portraits, of course in my humble opinion…
Can you guess who these artists are? Below are the answers but don’t cheat…
ANSWERS:
Albrecht Dürer – Self-Portrait at 28 (1500)
Pablo Picasso (1907)
Van Gogh (1889)
Gustave Courbet – The Desperate Man (Self-Portrait) (1843-1845)
JaZzArt en València 
I think making self-portraits is really convenient – you can always pose for yourself whenever you want to while hiring models or having someone pose for you means you’ll have to figure out scheduling. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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That is true, you have total and absolute control over the model. 😊 Have a great one Aiva! Thank you!
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Did one once in a community painting course, yes interesting, should do another…eventually, as for the 4 artists shown, got 2…Van Gogh and Picasso was guessed on his style…the 2 others, got me…:)
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Thank you JMR, and 2/4 is pretty good. At least you did not cheat 😁 All the best.
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Una clara explicación del objeto del autoretrato que tenía este concepto. Tu elección es magnífica. Saludos Francisco
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Muchas gracias Manuel. Un fuerte abrazo desde Turquía.
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Sigue disfrutando Francisco.
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Igual tú mi amigo.
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I like self-portraits. How do we see ourselves?
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Yes, exactly, a personal historical record of how we see ourselves at that moment. Thank you so much Mary.
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I like the multi faceted of your portrait.
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Thank you so much Cassa bassa! All the best.
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I think that depends on the artist
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True, it seems that for some artists they are not important at all. Thanks Sheree for dropping by. Have a happy Thursday.
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You too
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All the best.
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