Why do artists make self-portraits?
There are various reasons why an artist would make a self-portrait. Of course there are some practical reasons. For example, you have a model who is always available and your model won’t complain about your painting afterwards. However, there are more important reasons why an artist would make self-portraits. In this essay I will try to answer the question ‘Why do artists make self-portraits?’. I will do this by first looking at two famous artist who have made self-portraits and what they were trying to say with their self-portraits.
To start
with, I will take a look at Vincent van Gogh’s self-portraits. Vincent
van Gogh was a painter who suffered from a series of nervous breakdowns during
his life. He has painted self-portraits before and after his illness. When you
compare these paintings you can clearly see that he used different colours and
brushstrokes to express his emotion. For example, a self-portrait with strong
colours and broad brushstrokes tell you that he was probably nervous at the
time of painting. A portrait with more muted colours or with the brushstrokes
smoothed out would have made him came across calmer.
Furthermore, his self-portraits showed the way he saw himself. For
example, look at the painting on the right. This painting which he painted in
1888 is called ‘self-portrait as an artist’. He gave himself a serious
expression and the same equipment which professional artist used at that time.
In this way he showed that, despite the fact he had only sold one painting in
his entire life, he believed that he was a great painter and he tried to make
other people do so as well.
Secondly, I will look at the self-portraits of Judith
Leyster. Compared to Vincent van Gogh, Judith Leyster had a good life. She was
a successful artist, she had her own studio, she was married and she had five
children. She tried to show her success in her self-portraits.
Let’s take a look at the painting on the left. This painting of her is
called self-portrait and is painted in 1630. The brushstrokes she used in this
painting are free and lively. This makes the painting look relaxed. The violin
player in the background makes the painting look energetic and artistic. The
expression which she gave herself in this portrait, she looks straight into
your eyes and she smiles, makes her come across self-confident, pride and
happy. The clothes which she gave herself show us that she wasn’t poor, this
means that she must had success.
So, artists see self-portraits as something way more important than just
a reflection of themselves seen from a mirror. They use self-portraits as a way
to show other people how they felt at the time they made the painting. They use
self-portraits to show who they really are, how they see themselves and how
they want to be seen.
