I have never analyzed how artists see and present themselves to the pubic. When someone points a camera at me, or even when I take pictures, I tend to 'smile for the camera.' When artists took the brush to paint a self portrait they wanted to present themselves as serious as possible, meaning: a simple facial expression without a smile, and a deep mysterious look in their eyes. The artists presented in my curating show are:
- Claude Monet: Self Portrait 1886
- Francisco de Goya: Self Portrait 1815
- Frida Kahlo: Self Portrait with monkey 1938
- Henri Matisse: Self Portrait in a striped T-Shirt 1906
- Leonardo da Vinci: Self Portrait
- Pablo Picasso: Self Portrait Spring 1907
- Rene Magritte: The Magician (Self Portrait with four arms) 1952
- Salvador Dali: Self Portrait with fried bacon 1941
- Vincent Van Gogh: Self Portrait September 1889
Looking at each of these portraits is not difficult as the same idea is presented – but the way the idea is presented is interesting as each of these artists used various materials and techniques so that the end result would be unique. Some are alone, others have objects near them, some use one color, others use varieties of colors, some prefer dark, and others bright colors; therefore, the final portrait is delivered the way artists intended it to be. Also the way the face is expressed differs from one artist to the other, some use strong lines that define the face, yet others use simple lines just to show the facial attributes.
Have a look and see how each portrait differs from the one before it and also the one after it. Enjoy the show
Elif Sabani
