January 24: Self-Portraits

 

Self Portraits that I Enjoy

 

Egon Schiele, Self Portrait, Grimacing, 1910

 

Ever since first seeing a sketch of Schiele's, I've been fascinated by the way he represents people, especially himself. The twisted features, expressive lines and sickly colors Schiele uses to portray himself give his self-portraits an element of disgust, seemingly with himself. As well, I love Schiele's faces; the expressions he is able to capture remind me of the typical sneering punk-rocker of the late-'70s, only about 68 years early. I really just enjoy anyone who would intentionally make themselves look so grotesque. Also: his style totally reminds me of Frank Miller's artwork in "The Dark Knight Returns," which was awesome.

Lucien Freud, Reflection (Self Portrait), 1985

Similarly to Schiele, Freud is exceptional at creating dynamic faces, especially his own. I love the shadows and the way that the wrinkles and creases in his skin are represented, emphasizing every flaw in his face. The British painter and grandson of Sigmund Freud was a fan of hard-living, which is captured perfectly on his face in Reflection. I feel that Freud manages to display a great amount truth about himself in this image, looking somewhat like a retired boxer, his battered face appearing to reflect on the things that made it the way it is.

Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Self Portrait with Blood), 1973

As this is a photography class, I wanted to make sure I included a photographer in my list, so I chose Mendieta, who was often the subject of her work. A great deal of Mendieta's work focuses on the female body, either as a form, for it's connectedness with nature, or as a subject of abuse, as is the case here. Mendieta is a really intense artists, and I can't help but respect how confrontational her artwork is, not to mention her own personal story which is itself pretty intense.

On the Subject of Self-Portraits...

I think the reason that the self portrait is such a prevalent form of art is that it fulfills two basic needs that essentially every person has: To express themselves in such a way as to have others understand them better, and to possibly understand themselves better through the creation. It really requires a level of introspection that most artistic people feel is necessary to get to the core of their own being. As well, although this sounds more insulting than it's meant to be, the self is kind of the easiest subject to confront due simply to familiarity. I am sure some level of narcissism is involved there as well, but there's honestly just something about creating an image of yourself that kind of allows you to idealize yourself a bit. Essentially, the self portrait fulfills a great deal of needs for an artist while also typically being understandable to most viewers.