Art Appreciation Blog: Post 8: Impressionists painting themselves

Mirror Mirror

The precursors to the first self-portraits would be the prehistorical handprints on cave walls, the first time an artist marked its presence. We can find self-portraits in ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Middle Ages, but they were usually incorporated into bigger paintings and were anonymous. Self-portraiture became popular in the Renaissance when Humanism redirected art towards individuality. It picked up even more popularity with the invention of mirrors, which were, at first convex (and self-portraits incorporated its effect). To dive into the history of self-portraits, a place to visit in Florence is the Uffizi Gallery, and within it is the Vasari Corridor, with the biggest collection of painters' self-portraits—1600 paintings.

Trying to balance the injustice done to female painters throughout history, here is the self-portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian Baroque painter, one of the first women presenting themselves as painters:

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656)
98.6 x 75.2 cm, oil on canvas
Self-Portrait as and Allegory Royal Collection

The history of portraiture radically changed in the mid-XIX century with the invention of photography. Artists focused on what features they wanted to reveal about others and themselves while prioritizing their painting method. For this post on Impressionists, I chose only self-portraits in which Impressionists portray themselves as painters.

Auto portrait, 1885
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)
61 x 50 cm, oil on canvas
Self portrait Morisot Musée Marmottan

Berthe Morisot presents herself as confident and content. Looking straight at us, she takes the classic (bust 3/4 towards us) pose, but she paints it with a shockingly brave and modern style for her time. It looks like her message to us is: this is my painting and it is finished to my liking, not for critics nor for viewers.

Autoportrait à la Palette, 1878,79
Edouard Manet (1832-1883)
83 x 67 cm, oil on canvas
Manet, Self-portrait private collection

Manet painted only two self-portraits during his lifetime. The first one, Self-Portrait with a Palette depicting him as a painter, was sold by Sotheby's to a private collector for 30 million dollars in 2020, making it the most expensive Impressionist portrait ever. The second, The Self-portrait with a Cap, of his full figure posing in a suit, is in the Artizon Museum in Japan. Manet was not left-handed which tells us that this self-portrait is a painting of his reflection in a mirror. At this point in his life, Manet was recognized as a master painter and a member of the social elite, which is how he wanted to be remembered.

Self-Portrait, 1876

August Pierre Renoir (1841-1919)

73.3 x 57.3 cm, oil on canvas

Renoir Self-Portrait Harvard Art Museums

Self-portrait

August Pierre Renoir (1841-1919)

Private Collection

These are the first and last of Renoir's self-portraits and the only ones where he presents himself as a painter. He was 25 years old in the first one and was already, after two Impressionist exhibitions, aware of the effect his paintings have on people.

Self-Portrait with a Beret, 1886
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
46 x 56 cm, oil on canvas
Monet Self-Portrait Private Collection

What is it about artists and berets? Rembrandt is the one who made them famous, as he wears them in most of his nearly 100 self-portraits. Berets were especially popular in the XIX century among different branches of artists, writers, sculptors, and painters. Berets represent the struggling, but also, independent and nonconventional artist. For Monet, the beret checks all previous boxes plus this flat wool hat would come in handy since he was painting mostly outdoors (en plein air) during all seasons.

Self-Portrait, 1880
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)
32.7 x 24.6 cm, gouache watercolour grafite on paper
Selfportrait Mary Cassatt National Portrait Gallery DC

Mary Cassatt was a strong and independent woman who was also fierce in her artistic expression. Her work is mostly based on portraits of women and children in the domestic context. She inspired women artists to defy the social norms and follow their path. Invited to join the Impressionists by Degas, she was strongly influenced by him in terms of methodology and mediums.

Portrait de l'artiste or Degas holding charcoal,1855
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
81.5 x 65 cm, oil on paper glued on canvas
Degas Self-portrait Orsay

Speaking of Degas, here is his self-portrait from a young age when his idols were Ingres and Delacroix. He was loyal to the Impressionist group, participating in and helping around all their exhibitions. Nevertheless, he preferred to be called a "realist," although his colors were more expressive than naturalistic. He experimented with many techniques and materials (over 70 sculptures were found in his atelier) and instead of light, he focused more on movement, moment, and composition.

The painter who painted most self-portraits, from that generation, is Vincent Van Gogh (although he belongs to the Post-Impressionists) - 43!

Among contemporary artists, I would like to mention Cindy Sherman, although she is not a painter and does not really portray herself. Still, she creates unforgettable art. Sherman manipulates photography of herself to explore the idea of a female identity and feminism. I was standing in front of her life-size series "Untitled" at the Venice Biennale 2011 remembering still the fascinating effect of her being masked but vulnerable and honest in front of the audience.