The Self-Portrait

Torn Paper Collage

What is a self-portrait?

I have a face, but a face is not what I am. Behind it lies a mind, which you do not see, but which looks out on you. This face, which you see but I do not, is a medium I own to express something of what I am. Or so it seems till I turn to the mirror. Then, my face may seem to own me; to confront me as a condition to which I am bound. 500 Self-Portraits, Introduction by Julian Bell

 Can you think of any self-portraits that you have seen?

Why do you think you remembered it?

Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889

 Why would an artist paint a selfportrait?

Expression? No models? Zeitgeist?

Romaine Brooks, Self-Portrait (1923), oil on canvas

They can be beautiful, accurate and serious when made from observation.

Albrecht Durer, Self-Portrait, 1500

 Or a way of expressing something about oneself. What do you think the next artist was trying to say?

Chaim Soutine, Grotesque, Self-Portrait, 1922, oil on canvas, Paris.

Kathe Kollwitz, Woman Thinking, self portrait, 1920, lithograph

Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait series

 What about symbolism?

Do you think it can be helpful in a selfportrait?

Symbolism
Depicts the symbols of ideas. Rather than the precise equivalents of ideas or emotions, symbols are meant to be more mysterious, ambiguous, a suggestions of meanings.

Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, Frida Kahlo(Mexican, 1907-1954)

1940. Oil on canvas, 15 3/4 x 11" (40 x 27.9 cm).

 What is this one about?

Shirin Neshat, Seeking Martyrdom, 1995, black and photograph and ink

 More symbolism

Emil Nolde, Masken II, oil on canvas

 What are some common elements in self portraits? What about honesty? Its rare to see a self-portrait that is more beautiful than the person Many have a very direct gaze.

Henri Matisse Self-Portrait in a Striped T-shirt 1906 Oil on Canvas

Paul Gaugin, Self Portrait with the Yellow Christ, 1889

 What about composition? What is it?

Composition
Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519), The Last Supper, 1498, modified fresco

Egon Schiele, 1911, Three Male Figures (aka Self-Portrait)

 What about imagination? What effect might that have on a selfportrait?

Marc Chagall, Double Portrait with Wineglass, 1918, oil on canvas

Victor Brauner, Self-Portrait, 1931, oil on board

 More self-portraits to look at-

Lopold Boilly (French, 1761-1845), Grimacing Man (Self-Portrait), c. 1822-23

Paula Modersohn-Becker: Self-portrait with

Flowering Trees, 1902, Tempera on cardboard.

Pablo Picasso, Self-Portrait,1907

Max Beckmann, Self-Portrait with Red Scarf, 1917

Self-Portrait in Tuxedo 1927.

Oil on canvas

Lee Krasner, Self-portrait, 1930

Malevich, Self-Portrait, 1911, Gouache/watercolor

Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 2004

Elaine de Kooning, Self-portrait

Diego Rivera, Self-Portrait, Oil on canvas, 1941

Oskar Kokoschka, Self-portrait, 1917

Francis bacon, Self-Portrait, 1971 Oil on canvas

Jean-Michelle Basquiat, self-portrait, 1982

Self-Portrait, Sandy Badger, 2003

Collage
What is collage?

Torn Paper Collage

Finished work/example

 http://www.schimmelart.com/collection.htm

Assignment
1) Research 1 self-portrait, write one paragraph (at least 5 sentences) about the portrait on Schoology and include the image you are writing about. Comment about one other posting. Due by Tuesday, end of the school day. 2) Complete a mini torn paper collage of an eye. This is a warm up to get you used to working with paper as if it were paint. Begin and complete on Tuesday. 3) Begin to think about your self portrait (head only). Draw and plan in your sketchbook your imaginary self-portrait and the one from observation, how you might place them on your paper. Show me your planning the end of class on Wednesday. Things to keep in mind: size, keep it simple and think about composition-the way you will put them together on your mat board-with finishing touches (necks, shoulders, symbols, etc).

Definition:
A portrait an artist makes using himself or herself as its subject, typically drawn or painted from a reflection in a mirror. A portrait one draws or paints of oneself. Self portraiture is a singular, in-turned art. Back

 zeitgeist or Zeitgeist (pr. TSI:T-gi:st) The spirit of the times. A German word for the general moral, intellectual, and cultural climate of an era. Back

Composition
The plan, placement or arrangement of the elements in a work of art. Composition can also refer to the area of a sheet in which the design appears in a drawing or a print. The design of a composition should either be pleasing or it should be in some other way expressive. Back

The definition of collage is, an abstract form of art in which photographs, pieces of paper, newspaper cuttings, string, etc. are placed in juxtaposition and glued to the pictorial surface"
[1]. Although it is considered an "abstract form of art", the materials used are pictorial and textual representations of recognizable objects. When placed next to each other, however, these representations may lose their autonomous meaning by creating a new, collective piece. [2]. Collage came into the focus of the art world in the 20th century, often with the use of "found objects fixing these objects on a two-dimensional surface. The first use of collage in fine art came from Picasso in 1912, one example being "Still-Life with Chair-Caning", in which he used printed oil-cloth that looked like chair-caning, as well as a rope encircling the painting to form a frame.
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