Graphic Design & Illustration

Self Portraits

Historical PowerPoint

(Drawing the Human Head in Pencil)

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Introduction Self-portrait: A representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist.

The history of self portraits is as long and as varied as the history of art itself, but they became increasingly popular after the mid-fifteenth century when good mirrors were more readily available.

Doing a self-portrait is free and convenient. You are always close at hand as a model for your own artistic creation.

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Leonardo da Vinci, 1512 Red Chalk on Paper

Judith Leyster, 1630Oil on Canvashttp://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/self_portraits/act_leyster.shtmhttp://www.davincibio.org/

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Henri Matisse Self Portrait in a Striped T-shirt1906, Oil on Canvashttp://www.artquotes.net/masters/henri-matisse/self-portrait-1906.htm

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Picasso, Self Portrait Facing DeathMougins, 30 June 1972Pencil and Crayon on Paperhttp://april04.myweb.uga.edu/picassogallery.htm

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Vincent van Gogh, Self Portrait, 1889, Oil on Canvas

Paul Gauguin, Self Portrait Dedicated to Carrière, 1888 or 1889, Oil on Canvas

http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/self_portraits/act_van_gogh_closer.shtmhttp://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/self_portraits/act_gauguin_faces.shtm

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Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1986Silk Screenhttp://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/self_portraits/act_warhol.shtm

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Chuck Close, 1997Oil on Canvas 102” x 84”http://www.riversoftheworld.org/view_pagecontent.php?resourceid=3783;id=r3783#r3783

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Gilbert Stuart, self portrait, 1778. Oil on canvas. Newport, Rhode Island, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. In the public domain

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Photograph of Self-portrait, 1920. Oil on canvas, by Duncan Grant. In the public domain

Questions:

Why do artists create self portraits? In what ways are these self portraits similar? How are they different? What types of emotions are invoked by these

portraits? Look closely at the compositions of these

works of art. Can you improve your composition by adjusting your use of space?

8Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.