Essay 'Why do Artists make self-portraits?'

This time the assignment was to write an essay. In the essay I had to answer the question ''Why do artists make self-portraits?''. To answer this question, I had to read articles about different artists. Then I had to try to find out why they made self-portraits. I choose to look at Vincent van Gogh and Judith Leyster. I choose for these two artists, because they seemed very different from each other. So, I thought that they would both have a totally different reason for making self-portraits. This was my essay; 

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.