The self as a subject is one of the most fascinating and fruitful of artistic enterprises. From the
15th century to today
, this collection brings together some of the
best examples of self-portraiture
to explore the genre’s evolution over the centuries as well as the enduring
questions of selfhood and self-representation
that have besieged human experience for centuries before social media and the selfie.
Is a self-portrait of an artist a medium of reflection? Or is it merely a black void, the “false mirror,” as the Surrealist René Magritte entitled his 1928 painting of an eye? How much does it impart about contemporary notions of beauty, power, and status? From
Albrecht Dürer to Egon Schiele, Fra Filippo Lippi to Frida Kahlo
, this far-reaching collection explores the numerous ways in which artists have taken themselves as subjects, the variety of ingenious methods and perspectives they have used, and the
intriguing questions
they raise.