Why make a self-portrait?


In this four-minute video, hear from artist and MFA graphic designer Eben Haines as he compares 17th-century Dutch and Flemish self-portraits to his own work. Haines draws a direct line from the self-portraiture of Rembrandt, De Heem, and others to his present-day practice. But whereas artists of the past depicted power in their self-portraits, Haines attempts to portray vulnerability.


Additional resources

Learn more about Rembrandt’s The Artist in His Studio

See another 17th-century Dutch self-portrait by Judith Leyster

Cite this page as: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Why make a self-portrait?," in Smarthistory, August 2, 2022, accessed March 19, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/why-make-a-self-portrait/.