Famous self-portraits. About the artists: Self-portraits of great people of art

The selfie rampage may be a new generation thing, but self-portraits are nothing new. WITH Ancient Egypt even before the Renaissance, self-portraits adorned artists' attempts to various stages their careers. All this is to say that the concept of self-portrait actually became popular in the 15th century and since then, artists ranging from amateurs to classical masters have painted them in different styles and to varying degrees of accuracy.

Considering that even the aspiring artist and later dictator Adolf Hitler painted a self-portrait, it is safe to say that the essence of capture is by no means a new phenomenon. All this speaks to the undeniable truth that some self-portraits are placed above others. This may be by various reasons, the artist's own fame, the authenticity of the portrait, or the style that was used to create the model.

Listed below are the 10 most famous self-portraits.

Having left the world of medicine for the world of art at the age of seventeen, Frida Kahlo certainly left her mark on history. She has painted many self-portraits or herself in various aspects of life and each one is artistically beautiful and emotionally appealing to the audience. But perhaps one of her most famous paintings is a self-portrait with a necklace of thorns and a hummingbird.

Like most of her famous paintings, they include images that bring the psychological and physiological sensation of pain. The determination and pain that characterize her life through accidents and divorces are an invisible part of her paintings.

Having painted over 30 self-portraits throughout his career, Vincent Van Gogh has collected self-portraits that are recognized as unique, individual and sure to be part of the cream of the art world.

The self-portrait with a bandaged ear is one of two portraits he made after cutting off his right ear, which apparently became his left ear in the painting, since he used a mirror. This painting makes the list not only because of its uniqueness, but because of the story behind it.

Rembrandt painted many portraits of himself, but perhaps the most famous is the self-portrait with a curved beret. It is considered the most famous self-portrait as it is iconic for showing his age.

Rembrandt's self-portraits are much more interesting works To study when it came to light, he often asked his students to copy his self-portrait as a form of practice and develop their own style.

Known for his four color drawings, Andy Warhol is considered one of the greatest artists in the era of pop art. The popular green, red, blue, yellow combination of printed photographs seen today can be attributed to him.

He made his self-portrait as part of this series, as well as parts of other works. But it should be noted that his self-portrait in four colors is one of his most famous works.

Known for gritty reality, David Hockney has created many self-portraits that reflect him as a person. The paintings are meant to showcase your observations, candid moments, and all the awkward things that happen to people.

Many artists have used mirrors as a form of self-perception and used them to create an accurate or idealistic portrait of oneself - this is by no means new idea. The way Lucian Freud used mirrors, especially in his most famous self-portrait.

He looks scary because in the foreground of the picture there are two children who are almost hidden behind him.

Gustave Courbet is known as a realist artist. His self-portrait, Le Desespere Hotel, showing a young man in despair. With wide eyes and disheveled hair, in which realism in painting takes on a new dimension. This is one of the paintings that Gustave took with him when he was sent into exile.

The Turin Self-Portrait is the only self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci that has been found. It is believed that the face yellow color associated with the idea of ​​human rebirth. Regardless of its dubious provenance, this painting remains one of the most famous self-portraits.

Dürer's self-portrait will make all viewers pause and look at the work. Dark background and dark clothing, facial features and skin color are highlighted. The artist bears a strong resemblance to Jesus and most critics suggest that this was done intentionally. This portrait was painted by Albrecht Durer on the night before his 29th birthday.

Critics to this day debate whether the divine likeness was a form of idolatry or a way of subtly indicating that Albrecht's talent was a gift from God.

The creator of the style known today as impressionism is Claude Oscar Monet. Monet suffered from cataracts and critics cannot decide whether the portrait was painted in an attempt to capture his appearance or whether it is just a self-portrait in accordance with the trends of the times.

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Self-portrait - (from Greek autos-self and French portrait - portrait, English self-portrait, French autoportrait, German Selbstbildnis) - picturesque, graphic or sculptural image by an artist, made by himself using one mirror or a system of mirrors. Contains an assessment of one’s personality, one’s role in public life and art, a declaration of their creative principles. The artist can be represented in different guises, in different clothes.

Self-portrait requires from the artist the art of self-knowledge. Self-portrait can be found in all types of art: literature, music, fine arts.
It is believed that the genre of self-portrait developed during the Renaissance. Before the advent of abstraction, self-portraits were created using mirrors - this is the only way to depict yourself if you can’t see yourself. This is a kind of narcissism: the reflection is formed at the request of the author the way he wants to see himself.

Helmut Newton

The artists of antiquity, when creating a self-portrait, perfectly conveyed the external resemblance, but the internal, spiritual world was inaccessible to them. The era of Christianity is characterized by the desire for repentance and confession. Motives of self-criticism appear in the self-portrait. During the Renaissance, they formed genre features self-portrait. You are probably well aware of the self-portraits of such artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Tintoretto, El Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Van Gogh, Picasso and many others.

In a self-portrait you can see a lot of interesting things about a person’s attitude towards himself, his vision of his qualities, abilities, appearance, social significance and emotional self-esteem. A self-portrait is an understanding of one’s spiritual makeup, comprehension of one’s character, one’s affections and inclinations, one’s strengths and weaknesses, one’s views on the world, man, nature, and self-criticism.

The self-portrait genre is very popular in photography. Taking pictures of yourself when the genre of photography first appeared was not easy. Modern technology makes it much easier to express yourself through self-portraiture. It is more difficult to look into yourself, analyze yourself, find yourself on the other side of the camera and find yourself in the role of the one being studied. Looking at yourself from the outside is not very simple.

André Kertész

One of the options for observing yourself from the outside is shooting through a mirror. The mirror was often used by artists in drawing self-portraits, it served as a realistic reflection for drawing from life, it helped the artist to show himself in a role-playing role. As soon as we begin to try on roles, we either go into this process and remain in the image, or we begin to free ourselves from roles and remove one by one the filters through which we look at reality.

The second way is studying, finding the inner point of reference, the inner essence of oneself.

Brassaï

More technical question- what can be called a self-portrait? What if another person's hand presses the camera shutter? Who is the author of the photo? Any photograph directed by the photographer himself can be considered a self-portrait. Modern technical capabilities are such that there is no need for outside help.

Marianne Breslauer

How to prepare for a shoot and where to start? As in any other genre of photography - from creating an image and composition. Think about what you want to show the viewer. Serious young man V full height in a business suit, the awakening of a young girl in a romantic environment of pillows and silk linen on the bed, a thoughtful mood by the window overlooking the world around you, or something abstract with butterflies, hearts and fairies. Before you shoot, think about how you want to show yourself and through what means you can convey this mood.

So, first - concept and idea of ​​the photo.

Once you have determined the theme of your photo, you can move on to implementing it. First of all, you need to decide which props you will work and Where you will shoot (determine the shoot place ). Photography is painting with light. Therefore the next step isselection and preparation of lighting (window light, natural light outside or flashes). And finally preparing equipment for filming.

Ré Soupault

Equipment

Camera

It is optimal to have a digital camera with a timer (with a delay of several seconds) and autofocus; if you are shooting with studio light, you need the ability to synchronize with it.

Lens

The choice of focal length depends on the scale of the portrait. It is optimal to have a portrait soft-focus lens.

Tripod

To take a self-portrait, you will definitely need a tripod. You can use any other surface to mount your camera, but only with a tripod you are guaranteed to get sharp photos.

Light

You can shoot outdoors with natural light. Here you will need a reflector and in some cases a diffuser. White walls and other white surfaces can serve as a reflector. When shooting with light from a window, it is also advisable to use a reflector (an alternative is white walls and surfaces). If you want to shoot with studio lighting, you need to have flashes and a synchronizer.

Remote control

When shooting on a digital camera, the built-in self-timer may be sufficient, but if you don't focus manually, autofocus will occur when you press the camera's shutter button. Autofocus may make mistakes and sharpness may not be in your eyes, but somewhere else.

The remote control is much more convenient. Using the remote control, you will gain greater mobility: you will not need to run between the camera and the shooting location in order to take one shot (running is good for your health, but running here and there is not pleasant; you will not be able to properly concentrate on the mood and image). In addition, the remote control is small and can be easily hidden in your hand or pocket while shooting. Radio remotes or IR remotes are best. You won't be connected by wires to the camera and they have a range of tens of meters. You can also use a cable release.

Richard Avedon

Tips for taking a self-portrait

Focusing

One option is for the camera in autofocus mode to focus in advance on the place where the face is supposed to be located. Any object can be in place of the face. Then autofocus is turned off or the camera is switched to focusing mode on a stationary object (that is, autofocus tracking is turned off, do not forget to turn off all stabilizers and gyroscopes on the lens). Focus should be on the eyes and portraits are best shot with a shallow depth of field. But in the case of a self-portrait, a small depth of field is almost impossible, so the aperture should be from f\8 or narrower. In order for the camera to focus properly, there must be a sufficient amount of light on the face.

Shooting options

There are many options for taking a self-portrait. The first one, which we often see on social media. networks. The “photographer” takes the camera and films himself at arm’s length. Friendly caricatures-self-portraits shot in this way are known to us all.

The second way is to shoot the reflection in the mirror. When shooting with a mirror, you can control your pose, facial expression, gaze, etc.

The most difficult and interesting way shooting a self-portrait - shooting with preliminary preparation. To do this, you prepare the shooting location, put the camera on a tripod, compose the frame in advance, prepare the light, and choose the exposure. Of course, it is better to have an assistant to set the light and determine the exposure.

As a rule, when shooting a self-portrait, you need to monitor the results after you have taken several frames. That is, you shoot several frames, look at the results, make adjustments to the composition of the frame, pose, light, exposure, etc., and shoot further. In composition, it is very important that your pose is comfortable and natural. If you are filming while sitting, find support for your legs and arms (pillows, books, armrests, etc.) When shooting, your gaze does not have to be directed at the camera. It all depends on your idea and whether you want to have a direct dialogue with the viewer, looking into the camera, or whether you want to show yourself in thoughts, dreams, memories.

Taking a self-portrait is a complex, but very exciting and interesting process. You learn to understand yourself.

Willy Ronis

Ugo Mulas

Ed van der Elsken

Stanley Kubrick

Lee Friedlander

Cecil Beaton

Lee Friedlander

Self-portrait

(from Greek Autos - himself, French Portrait,

from lat. portatore

Self-portrait is a graphic, pictorial, sculptural image of the artist, made by himself, most often with the help of a mirror. A self-portrait expresses the artist’s assessment of his personality and his creative principles. An artist can strive in a self-portrait to achieve objectivity of self-esteem, elevate or expose himself, present himself in various guises, mythologize his image, etc.

For us today, self-portrait is as familiar a genre as any other. But just some 500-600 years ago in Europe, and in Russia even less - 280 years ago - the self-portrait was an isolated and innovative phenomenon that affirmed the value creative personality and her right to the memory of posterity.

The emergence and development of this genre is associated, first of all, with the revaluation of the very status of the artist in the 15th century. Hidden self-portraits existed before - the artist portrayed himself under the guise of a minor and anonymous character in the scene or endowed a very specific character with his own features. At the end of the Middle Ages, undisputed autopos appeared.portraits, that is, individualized faces, all more numerous and represented by the most in a variety of ways. This is accompanied by two parallel phenomena: new pictorial means,allowed Italian and Dutch artistskam clearly depict facial features, and a signature that draws the viewer's attention to the author of the work. And improvement andwidespread use of mirrors, especially Venetianskies who from the end XIV century were very highly valued. In any self-portrait that can be called "a specchio" ("with the help of a mirror"), depicted presented in three-quarters view and directs its gaze outwards, the composition is asymmetrical in nature.

However, as an independent genre, self-portrait appears in the Renaissance, since “The Renaissance discovered man” (J. Burchard).

There are several types of self-portrait:

1. “Inserted self-portrait” - the artist is introduced into group composition, with a distinctive sign or without it, sometimes it is dissolved in the situation(“hidden self-portrait”, for example, “Adoration in "lkhvo" by S. Botticelli, "The Last Day of Pompeii" by K. Bryullov) or separated from her (D. Velazquez “Las Meninas”).

2. "A representative or symbolic carportrait" - the artist gives his own features to thetoric or fairy tale character, sometimes this leads to the previous formula or to the specificschesical composition (Rogier van der Weyden “St. Luke painting the Madon”well"), and sometimes ends in a simple change of clothes.

3. “Group portrait” - professional, familiesny, memorable (P. Rubens “Four Philosophers”, “Self-Portrait with Mantuan Friends”).

4. "Separate or natural self-portrait" - the artist is shown at workor without professional supplies, background can range from a neutral or workshop interior to a more elaborate, sometimes even fantastic.

The first two types are more ancient and are often found in the 15th and 16th centuries, but they appear Xia and later. The other two arose in XV-XVI centuries and were developed in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The first artist for whom self-portrait became an iconic genre was Albrecht Durer (1471-1528). His self-portraits (Dürer created more than 50 self-portraits)form a unique series. Before Rembrandt's Western European painting

No one else has done anything like this. His self-portraits reflected the Renaissance approach to the interpretation of the personality of the artist, who from now on should be considered not as a humble artisan, but as a person with a high social status. These trends culminate in a self-portrait of 1500. The master painted himself as he wanted to be seen, reflecting on the great calling of the artist:solemn frontal pose and idealization of features, revealing a resemblance to Christ.

On the black field of this self-portrait, Dürer wrote two inscriptions in gold: on the left he put the date and his signature-monogram, and on the right, symmetrically with them, he wrote: “I, Albrecht Dürer, a Nuremberger, painted myself in this way with eternal colors.”The work of Rembrandt stands apart ta (1606-1669), who performed more than 60 self-portraits, which, like Dürer, are a kind of diary of the artist and accompany his entire creative life

. The artist's view of himself reflects all stages of his internal development: experiment - during his early, Leiden period, theatrically secretive - in the 1630s, and frank - towards the end of his life. In fact, he himself is his favorite subject to work with, sketches for other images he created in painting and graphics.One of the favorite motifs of self-portraits - the calm image of the artist in the interior of the studio, in front of the easel - is reflected in the work of many artists. Naimore fully and at the same time simply recreated by J. Char den. This topic will come up many times repeated with various shades

in the 19th century right up to to P. Cezanne and A. Matisse. self-portrait began to express the image of the artist (Uistler, Böcklin, Meissonnier, Pissarro, Monet). In the carCourbet's portraits are dominated by social pathos, and in images of Van Gogh (“Self-portrait with a cut off ear”) and up to Corinth and Beckmann - psychological.

The last significant episodes in the history of European self-portraiture in the classical sense are associated with the work of Paul Cézanne and Henri Rousseau (“Self-portrait-landscape”),whose self-portraits are popular, almost fabulous character.

On the eve of the First World War, surrealist artists and representatives of the “new materiality” ty" again turned to the self-portrait, but interpreted him in a more critical spirit (group portraitMax Ernst "Meeting of Friends", 1922,self-portraits of Bellmer and Dix).

Then, after a long oblivion due to age under the influence of abstract aesthetics and the desire to depict constructive elements in paintingyou, self-portrait appears again in the 1960s. at painters of New Figuration, Pop Art and various realisms. The influence of photography is noticeable in the workDenias of E. Warhol and Fromange. Since the late 1960s, many artists dedicated their creativity to researching their own individuality (body art and “individual mythology"). Thinking about your identity,their body, their past and future, they created created their own images, often using photography.

In Russia, self-portrait as a genre of art appeared in early XVIII V. “Self-portrait with his wife” 1729 by Andrei Matveev - a modest image married couple- became an innovative phenomenon and as the first Russian self-portrait of the artist, affirming the value of a creative personality and its right to the memory of descendants, and as a chamber type of portrait representing a private person.

One of the most important reasons for the underdevelopment of self-portraits in early stage the history of new Russian painting lies in the position of the artist in social system, in the conditions of its existence and in the characteristics of social well-being.

The Russian painter in the 18th century was, as it were, a craftsman; he bears the imprint of the medieval concept of personality - corporate, not revealed in individual aspirations, far from the idea of ​​self-expression. A Russian painter in the 18th century did not feel the right to engage with himself. But in Russian romanticism in the first half of the 19th century. self-portrait becomes a noticeable phenomenon (O. Kiprensky, K. Bryullov). But the most powerful flowering of the Russian self-portrait occurred in centuries, when almost nothing interesting happens in European self-portraiture.

This flourishing is associated with new system artistic thinking, where the role of the artist himself has become enormous, the craving for self-expression is unprecedented, and for individual creative style is stronger than ever. All these circumstances placed the creative personality at the center of the creative act, which inevitably had to revive the self-portrait. A self-portrait is a kind of declaration, the artist’s creative platform. The exhibition includes a reproduction of N. Goncharova’s self-portrait “Self-Portrait with Yellow Lilies”, 1907.Deformation of appearance, simplicity and coarsening of form, deliberate irregularity of drawing, all this “ugliness” sounded like a challenge to stylized art, as a protest against salon prettiness, often present in female portraits.

In a self-portrait miraculously the author and the theme, the subject of the image and its content are mixed, interpenetrated, it is always extremely rich in secret or obvious meanings, in which every element is important, and the personality of the depicted is revealed even contrary to the intentions of the author. Hence the ongoing interest of the viewer in the genre of self-portrait.

In 1664, the largest collector of the Medici family, Leopoldo Cosimo II, began collecting a collection of self-portraits with scientific systematicity. For this purpose, he purchased or received self-portraits as gifts famous masters, searched for portraits of contemporaries through agents or friends in different countries, reigning persons of European Courts, travelers. As a result, the creator of the collection obtained 80 paintings in 11 years. The collection doubled under his successor Cosimo III, who took care of its placement in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Currently, the Uffizi Gallery's collection of self-portraits numbers 2,300 paintings. This collection contains self-portraits of Russian artists (for example, B. Kustodiev, M. Chagall).

A natural self-portrait, in turn, can be:
- professional - the artist is depicted at work,
b - personal - revealing the moral and psychological traits of the author,
- erotic.

Most self-portraits were executed using one or more mirrors, which dictates
their main technological feature is image inversion.
A characteristic feature of a self-portrait is, first of all, that the artist “says”
with a first-person viewer. This is a kind of picturesque monologue of his.

Master Avram. Gates of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod.

The emergence of self-portrait is directly related to the development portrait painting as such.
The oldest surviving self-portraits can be considered images of artists in ancient Egyptian
painting and sculpture. The portrait image of the sculptor of Pharaoh Akhenaten is believed to date back to
circa 1365 BC is a self-portrait.
Self-portraits are also found in ancient Greek vase painting. And Plutarch mentions that the ancient Greek
the sculptor Phidias depicted himself as a god in a relief scene of the battle with the Amazons on the shield of the statue
Athens in the Parthenon.
In the Middle Ages, there are also sculptural self-portraits - belonging to sculptors
XIV century to Avram in Novgorod and Peter Parler in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

Peter Parler. Self-portrait. Sculpture of the triforium of the Cathedral of St. Vita in Prague. XIV century

The Italian artist Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) included himself in the cycle of “outstanding people” in
paintings in the church of Castel Nuovo in Naples.
But the true birth of portraiture as an independent genre, and with it the self-portrait
takes place during the Renaissance.
For Early Renaissance characterized mainly by “hidden self-portraits” in compositions based on biblical and
mythological themes(Masaccio, D. Ghirlandaio, S. Botticelli, B. Gozzoli, Luca Signorelli). So
Masaccio depicted himself as one of the apostles in the painting of the Brancacci Chapel. And Benozzo Gozzoli
draws himself in the “Procession of the Magi”, and so that there is no doubt that it is he who signs
your name on the hat. Sandro Botticelli made himself the hero of the painting “The Adoration of the Magi.”

Sandro Botticelli. Self-portrait. Fragment of the painting “Adoration of the Magi.”

Dominico Ghirlandaio. Self-portrait. Detail of the fresco “The Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple.”
Tornabuoni Chapel, Church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence.

Tomaso Masaccio. Self-portrait. Fragment of a fresco in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Pisa. 1426

“The gaze directed directly at the viewer, and the somewhat unnatural asymmetry of the outline of the face that arose
due to the mirror reversal of the image - characteristic signs by which they are usually identified
self-portraits in multi-figure compositions"-
This is how art critic V.N. Grashchenkov characterizes the self-portrait of the Early Renaissance.

Luca Signorelli. Self-portrait. Detail of the fresco “The Fall of the Antichrist”.
Chapel of San Brisio Cathedral Orveto, Orveto. 1499-1502

In art High Renaissance the self-portrait testified to the artist’s increased social status.

Rafael Santi. Self-portrait. 1506

The ideal of beauty and harmonious personality in Raphael's Self-Portrait (1510), limitless power
thoughts in the graphic “Self-Portrait” of Leonardo da Vinci (1512) - these are key images
High Renaissance.

Leonardo da Vinci. Self-portrait. 1512

Painters Late Renaissance revealed in a self-portrait dramatic fate creative personality.
These are the self-portraits of Tintoretto and Titian.

Jacopo Tintoretto. Self-portrait. Detail. OK. 1588-90

“Self-Portrait with Orazio and Marco Vecellio” depicts Titian himself, his son and relative Marco.
Titian's late self-portrait, which he painted in 1566, is also known.

Titian. Self-portrait. OK. 1566

Paolo Veronese portrays himself as a white-clad violinist in the painting
"Marriage in Cana of Galilee" (1562).

Paolo Veronese. Self-portrait, detail from the painting “Marriage in Cana of Galilee.”

Paolo Veronese. Self-portrait, detail from the painting “The Feast in the House of Levi.” 1573

It is believed that Michelangelo gave a resemblance to his own face to the image torn from the saint.
Bartholomew's skin in the scene " Last Judgment"in the painting of the Sistine Chapel.

Last Judgment. Fresco from the Sistine Chapel.
Fragment. (supposed self-portrait by Michelangelo).

Parmigianino. "Self-portrait in a convex mirror." 1524

Parmigianino’s “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror” is unsteady and changeable.

Michelangelo da Caravaggio. "Jellyfish". 1598-1599

Caravaggio’s “Medusa” (1598-1599) is frankly shocking, where the artist gives self-portrait features
the severed head of the Gorgon.

Mannerist self-portraits are characterized by isolation and complexity. inner world masters (Pontormo).

Jacopo Pontormo. Self-portrait. 1515

Masters Northern Renaissance often “encrypt” their self-portrait images. In "Chet"
Arnolfini" by Jan van Eyck, the figure of the artist is barely visible in the convex mirror hanging on the wall.
Below is the inscription: "Van Eyck was here."

Albrecht Durer. Self-portrait with a flower.