Self-Portraits

1. Rembrandt van Rijn
 -“Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar”

 -1659 AD

 -Netherlands

Vincent Van Gogh

 -“Self-Portrait with Felt Hat”

 -1888 AD

 -Netherlands

Lucian Freud

 -“Reflection (Self-Portrait)”

 -1985 AD

 -United Kingdom

Paul Gauguin

 -“Caricature, Self-Portrait”

 -1889 AD

 -France

Susanna Coffey

 -“Eris”

 -2003

 -America

Kathe Kollwitz

 -“Self Portrait”

 -1898

 -Germany

Gregory Gillespie

 -“Self-Portrait with Yellow Background”

 -1999

 -America

Pablo Picasso

 -“Self-Portrait”

 -1896

 -Spain

Paul Cezzane

 -“Self-Portrait”

 -1885

 -Russia

Brett Gamache

 -“Self Portrait”

 -2008

 -America

2.      The self-portraits painted by Gillespie, Coffey, and Gaugin use intense color, sharp contrast, and careful detail. All three artists use both warm and cool colors throughout the self portraits. Complementary colors are used to show contrast in each of the paintings. The paintings are very detailled, especially the face of each artist. Coffey and Gillespie's faces appear to be rough, while Gaugin's face appears to be smooth. All three artists use careful detail to show the texture of their faces. Gillespie, Coffey and Gaugin similarly use color, contrast and detail throughout their self-portraits.

3.       Vincent Van Gogh's self portrait, "Self-Portrait with Felt Hat" is the strongest self-portait. Van Gogh uses a radial technique which causes the viewer to concentrate on his face, the center. The painting is made up of lines. The repitition of lines gives the painting rythm. The variation of color causes the painting to stand out. Van Gogh unifies his painting by evenly distuibuting color to each part of his painting.  Vincent Van Gogh's self-portrait is very distinct and stands out amungst the rest.

4.       In earlier times, there were no cameras; the only way to have a visual image of something was to draw or paint it. Older artists use to paint self-portraits so that later on people would know what they looked like. Artists often enjoy portraying themselves as they see themselves, regardless of what others may see. Many modern artists do not focus on self-portraits as much as their other works because today there are cameras.There is not as much of a need to paint oneself today, as there use to be.