Light and Lens

Chapter 12

Photographer on Assignment

MAKING PORTRAITS: WHO AM I AND WHO ARE YOU?

Since Albrecht Dürer began a series of painted self-portraits in 1493 that provided insight into the changing nature of his character and beliefs over a lifetime, artists have expressed numerous inner concerns through self-portraits. Self-portraits allow artists to show awareness of their own appearance and traits, producing evidence of the intricacies of their lives. Self-portraits may continue gazing back at viewers in another place and time, long after their makers are dead. Self-portraits can be projections of the self that represent you as you are, or they can present hidden aspects of the self, sometimes revealing a secret self. Traditionally, self-portraits ...