Nothing was more important to a Roman emperor than his image.
Portraits + self-portraits
Female painters were rare in sixteenth-century Italy. In self-portraits, Sofonisba made sure to appear virtuous.
Sofonisba Anguissola
What couldn’t Peale do? He is shown as he saw himself: portraitist, naturalist, curator, and Enlightenment thinker.
Charles Willson Peale, The Artist in His ...
Napoleon’s sister courted controversy and posed semi-nude for Canova, who sculpted her as a modern-day Venus.
Antonio Canova, Paolina Borghese as Venus Victorious
This idealized portrait celebrates Republican ideals and memorializes a Revolutionary martyr in the pose of Christ.
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat
She fled France in disguise, but Vigée Le Brun does little to conceal her face—or her sympathy to Marie Antoinette.
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait
Professional female artists were few in the Dutch Republic. Here, Leyster cultivates confidence in her abilities.
Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait
With honesty and directness, Rembrandt paints a “selfie.” His marked face captures aging—and the painting process.
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait (1659)
“As I can.” On the frame to this portrait, the painter humblebrags—and establishes his place in history.
Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man ...
Tiye was a powerful figure, but her royal life was complicated, as demonstrated through this changing statue.
Portrait Head of Queen Tiye
Dürer holds nothing back in this frontal portrait. By taking Christ’s pose, he conflates artist and creator.
Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait (1500)
What a show-off! Hoping to win a papal commission, the confident young painter foregrounds his hand—and his skill.
Parmigianino, Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror
Found in an artist’s studio, this stunning bust exemplifies a change in style, and may have been an early prototype.
Thutmose, Model Bust of Queen Nefertiti
“Everything is illusory and death comes for us all!” proclaims this cheerful self-portrait.
Arnold Böcklin, Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle
Inside and outside, these panels are suffused with symbolism and the two stark profiles exude formality and power.
Piero della Francesca, Portraits of the Duke ...
Is Schiele’s haunted figure meant to be a famed Austrian artist or Jesus Christ—or both?
Egon Schiele, The Hermits
Sander documented German people from all walks of life, but the goals of his project remain unclear.
August Sander, Portraits
Sin Sukju’s attire and posture may be formulaic, but the face is definitely his—wrinkles and all.
Portrait of Sin Sukju
No paint touched those gloves! This portrait advertises Dürer’s skill—both the work of his mind and of his hand.
Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait (1498)
In her double self-portrait, Kahlo wears both European garb and the Indigenous clothing she grew to prefer.
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!
