opera tag
In the History of Art, artists have always felt the need to portray themselves in their works. Sometimes the artist’s face is the main subject of the painting, and at other times, the self portrait is concealed within a more complex composition. But why paint ourselves? Human beings have always wanted to pass their own image down to posterity, as a way of bearing witness to their own presence in the world. From Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Piero della Francesca, Sandro Botticelli, Antonello da Messina and Albrecht Dürer, to Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Frida Khalo, Amedeo Modigliani… right up to Roman Opalka. All of these artists have captured their self portrait with their brushes. And you? Have you ever tried making a self portrait? Nowadays, instead of using a brush, paints and oils on canvas, it’s easier to capture our image with a so-called selfie, the self portrait of our time! If, at one time, artists spent days upon days painting themselves on canvas, we – simply with the click of a button – become the subject of our own personal reality show.
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In the History of Art, artists have always felt the need to portray themselves in their works. Sometimes the artist’s face is the main subject of the painting, and at other times, the self portrait is concealed within a more complex composition. But why paint ourselves? Human beings have always wanted to pass their own image down to posterity, as a way of bearing witness to their own presence in the world. From Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Piero della Francesca, Sandro Botticelli, Antonello da Messina and Albrecht Dürer, to Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Frida Khalo, Amedeo Modigliani… right up to Roman Opalka. All of these artists have captured their self portrait with their brushes. And you? Have you ever tried making a self portrait? Nowadays, instead of using a brush, paints and oils on canvas, it’s easier to capture our image with a so-called selfie, the self portrait of our time! If, at one time, artists spent days upon days painting themselves on canvas, we – simply with the click of a button – become the subject of our own personal reality show.
