Since the fifteenth century and the advent of the mirror artists have modeled for themselves in their own works of art. Whether it is an in-depth exploration of the artist’s own psyche or simply because as a model, the artist is clearly the cheapest and most available. Whatever the reason, nearly every artist, in every medium from painters to sculptors have attempted this exploration of self.
With her research Jeanne Ivy looks at different kinds of self-portraits in an attempt to understand why people create these works and how they benefit from them. Her research covers the following topics as they relate to Self-Portraits:
~ as Signature ~
~ as Projection ~
~ as Self Study ~
~ as Fantasy ~
~ as Narrative ~
~ as Metaphorical ~
I do not like doing self portraits, but had to do one in 2000 as part of a school project. I picked a painting by Gerome and put myself in it. A bit austere and menacing, it is still framed and hangs in one of the rooms in the house. God only knows why?!
