6 Famous Self-Portraits from Art History (Art Selfies)

The first photographed selfie is said to have been captured in 1839. (Although the word selfie didn’t originate until 2002.) With today’s front-facing camera, millions of selfies are taken every day. Who hasn’t taken a selfie? But even before the first photographed selfie, art selfies (known as self-portraits in art history) have been around for centuries. Even if you aren’t an art lover, or just beginning your journey, you’ll likely recognize these famous self-portraits from art history. 

What is a self-portrait in art?

The art selfie, or self-portrait, is when an artist creates or paints an artwork of themselves. Throughout art history, artists have had the same motivations or reasons for their self-portraits that we tend to have with our modern day selfies. These include portraying our best selves, expressing emotions, showing a unique part of our identity, or giving a snapshot of an impactful experience in life.

6 famous self-portraits from art history

This article dives into six famous self-portraits. Hopefully you’ll see how these self-portraits connect to the selfies you see all around you today. Narrowing my list down to just six was extremely difficult. If your favorite didn’t get on the list, write it in the comments at the bottom of the article.

Sofonisba Anguissola’s Self-portrait at an Easel (1556)

Anguissola was a female renaissance artist. A female artist was very rare during this time period, as men ruled the art sphere. She became an artist after her father taught her, he himself being a famous artist. 

This specific self-portrait painting is Renaissance in character. She portrays herself as subdued and calm, yet confident in her craft. You can see she is painting an image of Mary and Christ. By painting herself in the act of painting, she makes it clear that she is an artist. She shows off her skills with the details in the clothing, the colors, and the emotion in The Madonna and Christ child. Perhaps the emotion in the painting portrays her longing for children that she never ends up having. 

Caravaggio’s Self-Portrait as Bacchus (1593)

Caravaggio is a famous Baroque artist with incredibly dramatic and powerful art. He completed Self-Portrait as Bacchus in 1593. During this time, records show that Caravaggio had recently arrived in Rome. Shortly after his arrival, he got sick and spent six months in the hospital with what was most likely malaria. And this is the image he painted of himself to represent what he went through. 

In this famous self-portrait, Caravaggio portrays himself as Bacchus. Bacchus is the Greek god of wine, fertility, religious ecstasy, festivity and theatre, and more. Basically the god of having a grand time! So, you can see a little bit of Caravaggio’s personality as he portrays himself as Bacchus. 

Upon further analysis, you’ll notice the sickness in Caravaggio’s (or Bacchus’s?) face and skin. Some of the side effects of malaria include jaundice skin, yellowing eyes, and pale lips, which you will notice in the painting. So yes, he looks like he’s having a good time, but he also looks strained from sickness.

Perhaps Caravaggio’s Self-Portrait as Bacchus represents today’s hospital recovery selfie. That selfie of someone recovering in a hospital with a nice cold drink in one hand and the other hand showing a thumb’s up. Like, “I just went through something terrible, but all is good. I’m ready to party again.”

Judith Leyster’s Self-Portrait (1630)

Judith Leyster is a Northern Baroque artist. In fact, she’s one of the first successful female artists from the Netherlands. In the north, they liked to paint genre scenes – typically scenes of the interior of regular people doing regular everyday activities, which you see in this self-portrait. 

Leyster most likely did not paint in the outfit she portrays herself in. Just look at that collar – very restrictive. But, dressing herself up like this makes her seem like a more serious artist. She may be trying to portray herself as well-off in order to appeal to her audience of patrons and buyers. In addition, the extravagance of her clothing lets her show off her talents. The lace, the silk, and other details are impressive.

The painting within the painting is of a young fiddler in a typical genre scene. (Common within Northern Baroque art as mentioned above) Leyster holds her paintbrush and palette, to clearly show herself as the artist. 

Finally, check out that gaze. She is looking at you in a way that says, “Hey, I’m good at what I do.” But also, she does so with a sly smirk. This painting was likely an inspiration for a young female artist somewhere.

Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait, 1660 (1660)

You cannot talk about famous self-portraits without mentioning Rembrandt. He is probably the most famous self-portrait artist, painting over 40 throughout his career. 

This self-portrait was completed in 1660. Around this time, Rembrandt went bankrupt. In addition, he lost a lot of friends and people in the art world. In fact, a lot of his artwork was destroyed at an art auction (terrible!). So, he’s kind of in despair at the time of this painting.

The focus of the painting is definitely Rembrandt, particularly his face. Everything else, even his clothing, is dark and dreary. Now, focusing on his face you can see wrinkles and discoloration in the skin. The look on his face is one of dejected acceptance. Perhaps despondence is the right word. His hair is graying, and he looks tired and sad. On the other hand, his image portrays this  feeling of acceptance. Like he’s okay with the situation and he’s ready to move forward. You can see the resolve that he has, which is really powerful. 

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun’s Self-Portrait (1790)

Vigée-Le Brun was a very successful artist. She was the court painter for Marie Antoinette while she lived at the Palace of Versailles, and painted over 40 portraits of the famous French queen. She painted in between the Rococo and Neoclassical art movements, and she balanced those two movements perfectly.

When you look at her, she shows herself as young, vibrant, talented, and of the upper class. She shows off her talent in the way she creates different textures and details. Look at the contrasting textures between the lace collar and the velvet sash. Look at the sheerness of her cap and her amazing hair.

Like some other artists in self-portraits, she’s holding her tools in her hands to solidify herself as an actual artist. Females like to do this because they weren’t taken as seriously as artists. Just like Judith Leyster, she glances at you with this air of confidence. Yet another empowering art selfie that likely helped motivate other women artists. 

Gustave Courbet’s Le Désespéré (1841)

The last of my 6 famous self-portraits is by Gustave Courbet in 1845. It’s called Le Désespéré, which means hopelessness or despair. The painting was completed earlier in his career when he had not yet proven himself as a successful artist. It’s romantic in style, although Courbet does go on to help start the Realism movement. 

The emotion in this painting is intense. Perhaps this is how he felt at the time, after dropping out of law school and struggling to gain footing in the art scene. He was frequently being rejected. Later in his much more successful career, he would say, “I was made to suffer despair in my youth”, which we can clearly see in this self-portrait. With his big, wide eyes and his hands grasping at his hair, you can see the despair and hopelessness. Yet, you can still see that incredible talent. Just notice the strong diagonal lines, intense details in each strand of hair, and the unique romantic style of high contrast between light and dark in this high-drama painting. This is a talented artist.

Famous self-portraits compared to modern day selfies

So, when you walk through art museums and pass those famous self-portraits, perhaps you might stop next time. Ask yourself, “What is the artist showing or teaching me in this self-portrait?” Or, “How does this self-portrait connect to the artist’s story?” Similarly, the same goes for selfies that you see today from friends or others. Are they trying to tell you something? Are they crying for help? Are they portraying themselves at their best to tell you something? What does it have to do with their life story? We can listen. We can empathize. And we can try to figure out how we can help or connect with them on a deeper level.