The Portrait

A portrait can tell the viewer much about the subject A portrait can tell the viewer much about the subject. A portrait can be flattering, epic, respectful, powerful or ugly; but all say something about the character of the person.

When creating a self portrait, one must consider what you want to say about yourself. Are you playful, serious, trying to portray a message? How can your clothing, surroundings, expression, and manner affect this portrayal?

To the left is a pencil portrait drawn in the detailed "realistic" style. This portrait was drawn from a photograph.

A detail of the eye. All the pencil strokes are "crosshatched", not smeared or smudged. The gentle crosshatch gives the portrait a cleaner, neater appearance. It is much easier to control than smudging. Small subtle details are easier to define. If the crosshatching technique is done with these small, refined pencil strokes, the effect will look smooth and even photo-realistic when the portrait is seen at a normal distance. If contour lines are used in conjunction with the crosshatching, a subtle but effective dimensional effect will occur. This will enhance the "realistic" look of the portrait.

A close-up of the nose and mouth. Notice that there is a subtle indication of a "highlight" on the tip of the nose, and a highlight on the bottom lip. This was achieved by gently laying down a light tone around these highlights. With a portrait this "detailed", most of the face will be rendered as a light gray, so that such "highlights" will show up. When seen at "normal" size, most of these light pencil crosshatching strokes will not be very visible. However, the crosshatching technique is not unattractive, and needn't been concealed, or hidden

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait 1886

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait, 1887

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait with Straw Hat, 1887

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait with Straw Hat, 1887

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait in front of Easel, 1888

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait dedicated to Paul Gauguin, 1888

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait, 1889

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889

Botticelli. The Adoration of the Magi. Early 1470s

Jan van Eyck. Arnolfini Wedding Portrait. 1434 oil on wood

Toulouse Lautrec At the Moulin Rouge 1892 - 1995

Pablo Picasso The Artist Before His Canvas, 1938

Frida Kahlo. The Two Fridas 1939

Frida Kahlo. The Broken Column 1944

Egon Schiele Self Portrait 1912

Léopold Boilly Grimacing Man (Self-Portrait), c Léopold Boilly Grimacing Man (Self-Portrait), c. 1822-23, conte crayons on paper

James Montgomery Flagg (American, 1877-1960), I Want You for U. S James Montgomery Flagg (American, 1877-1960), I Want You for U.S. Army, 1917

Herbert Bayer Self-Portrait in Mirror, 1932

Chuck Close Self Portrait 1997

Chuck Close Self Portrait 1968

Tim Hawkinson (American, 1960-), Balloon Self-Portrait, 2004 Tim Hawkinson (American, 1960-), Balloon Self-Portrait, 2004?, latex sculpture, life size cast from the artist's body, turned inside out, then inflated by an air compressor, Ace Gallery, NYC.  

Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman Untitled Film Still, 1981

Norman Rockwell Triple Self Portrait, 1960

Banksy Self Portrait, 2007

Eisuke Sato Self Portrait, 2008

Gustav Courbet, Self Portrait/The Desperate Man. o/c 1843

Pierre Auguste Renoir Self Portrait, 1910

Joe Peller Self-Portrait—Day’s End , 2003

Costa Vavagiakis, Self Portrait, 1994

Mary Beth McKenzie, Self-Portrait, Life Masks 1990

Michelle Flanagan Personal, 1997

John Hodapp Self Portrait, 2008

Eric Elliot Self Portrait, 2008

Chrissy Dwyer Self-portrait, 2005

Arkady Roytman Self Portrait, 2006

Susanna Coffey, Self Portrait (cloudy) 2002

Catherine Fox Self Portrait 2004

Andy Warhol Self Portrait 1986

Albrecht Durer Self Portrait 1500

Colin Harbut, Self Portrait Graphite on paper, 2010

Melissa Cooke Self Portrait as Pig, 2010

Ottilie Simpson, Self Portrait, 2010

Megan Van Groll

Megan Van Groll Bakery Brawl

David Airey Self Portrait of the Artist with Liquid Refreshment Chalk, 1997

Francis Bacon Self Portrait 1969

All of these artists gazed into their mirrors and attempted to grasp their identities. They sought to portray their image, whether it showed a clear representation of their features, a walk through their childhood or an outpouring of emotions. Some self-portraits show only what the artist wants us to see, some chronicle the history of the artist, others reveal personal secrets and a sense of isolation. Whichever method is employed each artist took a long literal and figurative look at him/herself. Each portrait is an exploration of the self.

Fin