Artists' Self-Portraits

Aninsightful,lavishlyillustratedhistoryofself-portraitsbywell-knownartistsfromearlyexamplesinclassicaltimesthroughitsfloweringintheRenaissancetomoderninterpretations.Inhisfascinatingsurvey,arthistorianOmarCalabreserevealsthatself-portraitsthroughtheagesarebothareflectionoftheartistandoftheperiodinwhichtheartistlived.Organizedthematically,theauthorfirstpresentsabasicdefinitionofthegenreoftheself-portrait,interpretingthepicturetobeamanifestationofselfidentity,andincludingexamplesfromanEgyptiantombpaintingandpicturesonstainedglassduringtheMiddleAgesandcontinuingtomoderntimes.ThenextchapterfocusesontheturningpointfortheestablishmentofthegenreduringtheRenaissancewhenthestatusofthepainterorsculptorwasraisedfromartisantoartistand,asaresult,portraitsoftheartistwereconsideredworthwhilepictures.Atfirstaself-portraitwashiddeninanarrativepainting:anartistwouldpainthisimageaspartofacrowdscene,forexample,orasamythologicalfigure.Ontheotherextreme,oncethegenrewasaccepted,itwaspracticedbysomeartists?Rembrandt,vanGogh,Munch,andDali,forinstance?asalmostanobsession.Incontemporaryarttheself-portraitcanbecomeadeconstructedgenrewiththeartisthidingorsatirizinghimselfuntilhenearlydisappearsonthecanvas.Amongthe300picturesfeaturedhereareexamplesbysuchartistsasAlbrechtD?rer,Vel?zquez,ElisabethVig?e-Lebrun,Ingres,Degas,Toulouse-Lautrec,Gainsborough,Matisse,JamesEnsor,EgonSchiele,FridaKahlo,ManRay,HenryMoore,RobertRauschenberg,NormanRockwell,andRoyLichtenstein.Thisintriguingbookisafreshwaytoappreciatethehistoryofartandtounderstandthataself-portraitisfarmorecomplexandmeaningfulthanmerelyaportraitoftheartist.AUTHOR:OmarrCalabreseisaprofessorofartandsemioticsattheUniversityofSiena.HehasalsotaughtatYaleUniversity,theSorbonne,auniversityinBerlinandservedasacuratorforanumberoftelevisionprogramsaboutart.Hehaswrittenseveralbooks,includingNeo-Baroque:ASignoftheTimes(PrincetonUniversityPress)andeditedItalianStyle:FormsofCreativity(Skira)andothervolumes.REVIEW"Calabrese'shistoryoftheformhighlightsitsversatility."--TheNewYorkTimesILLUSTRATIONS345colourillustrations*