Here's Looking at Me: How Artists See Themselves

Raczks, B. (2006). Here’s looking at me: How artists see themselves. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Millbrook Press.

             “If you were going to paint a picture of yourself, how would you do it?  Would you look in the mirror?  Or would you paint yourself from memory?  Would you get all dressed up?  Would you wear your pajamas?  Or would you dress up like somebody else?  Would you paint yourself smiling, or looking very serious?  Would you paint your entire body, or just your head?  These are just some of the questions the artists in this book considered….
Every artist has his or her own way of making a self-portrait….” (p. 3)

              There is much to be learned from studying artists’ self-portraits, including styles of a particular time and place, and artists’ introspection.  This attractive informational book, themed around the self-portrait, is written for ages 8-11 and up.  It is structured to devote one page of conversational style text accompanying each full-page captioned self-portrait by fourteen artists.  The author has chosen artists important to art history from early Renaissance to modern times, including three women.  Several intriguing observations are briefly examined, such as Chagall’s having painted himself with seven fingers, Goya affixing candles to his hat so he could work at night, and why Rockwell’s triple self-portrait contains more than three.  With text printed on faux parchment, this book is a beautifully presented introduction to art history for young and older, whetting appetites for more.  

   

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1652)

Self-Portrait as Pittura

                    What does this self-portrait of Artemisia Gentileschi have in common with
                    the Statue of Liberty? If you said that both are women, you’re on the
                    right track. The answer is, both are allegories.

                    
                    An allegory is a symbol, often a person, that stands for something else.
                    For example, the Statue of Liberty is the woman who stands for freedom. In
                    this self-portrait, Artemisia Gentileschi painted herself as Pittura, the woman
                    who stands for the art of painting.

                    According to mythology, Pittura invented painting. And around her neck,
                    on a gold chain, she wore the “mask of imitation”—just as Artemisia is
                    wearing it in this painting. So why did she paint herself as Pittura?

                    Artemisia lived in Italy at a time when women were discouraged from
                    becoming painters. They were expected to stay at home and raise families.
                    But Artemisia’s father was a painter, and he taught her everything he knew.
                    In fact, Artemisia learned to paint before she learned to read. By painting
                    herself as Pittura, Artemisia was telling the people who didn’t think she
                    should be a painter, “No one can keep me from painting. Painting is what
                    I do. Painting is who I am.” (p. 8)

Question: How would (will) you paint your self-portrait, and why?