Rembrandt - for me the master of the self portrait

Rembrandt - for me the master of the self portrait

I’ve never done one. Perhaps 28 Drawings Later is the excuse I need to try. Some interesting musings on the topic of Self Portraits in The Guardian’s Notes and Queries column today.

 

How do artists make self-portraits? When we look in a mirror the image is laterally inverted and we do not see ourselves as others see us. So are we seeing a true image of the artist?

Speaking as an artist, your question doesn’t make much sense. An artist will have some kind of technical ability to be able to produce work, but the creative process also comprises their own taste, style and experience. A self-portrait would involve a combination of all these factors; but, most importantly, you’ll find artists aren’t interested in what others see, only what they themselves see. Many artists use two mirrors (one reflects into the other) and therefore can see themselves the right way round if they so wish.

chickenelly

There is the practical problem of literally seeing oneself, but these days it is relatively simple to view a photo that shows you as others see you. Whether you are seeing a “true image of the artist”is an entirely different matter. You might just as well ask: “If two artists create a representation of a particular object, which is the ‘true image?'”

torinesi

When you look in a mirror your left hand is on the left side of your reflection. When someone else stands facing you, your left hand is on the right side as they look at you. So when you look in a mirror the image is not laterally inverted, but when you are facing a person you laterally invert them by the action of turning around to face them. But perhaps one is saying that the image in the mirror is laterally inverted with respect to how someone would normally see you.

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