Exploring what motivates artists to paint or photograph themselves, the author selects over 100 self-portraits from the National Portrait Gallery to examine the style, techniques and personalities of the sitters, including William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, Angelica Kauffmann, and more.
In his fascinating survey, art historian Omar Calabrese reveals that self-portraits through the ages are both a reflection of the artist and of the period in which the artist lived. Organized thematically, the author first presents a basic definition of the genre of the self-portrait, interpreting the picture to be a manifestation of self identity, and including examples from an Egyptian tomb painting and pictures on stained glass during the Middle Ages and continuing to modern times. The next chapter focuses on the turning point for the establishment of the genre during the Renaissance when the status of the painter or sculptor was raised from artisan to artist and, as a result, portraits of the artist were considered worthwhile pictures. At first a self-portrait was hidden in a narrative painting: an artist would paint his image as part of a crowd scene, for example, or as a mythological figure. On the other extreme, once the genre was accepted, it was practiced by some artists—Rembrandt, van Gogh, Munch, and Dali, for instance—as almost an obsession. In contemporary art the self-portrait can become a deconstructed genre with the artist hiding or satirizing himself until he nearly disappears on the canvas. Among the 300 pictures featured here are examples by such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Velazquez, Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, Ingres, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gainsborough, Matisse, James Ensor, Egon Schiele, Frida Kahlo, Man Ray, Henry Moore, Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell, and Roy Lichtenstein. This intriguing book is a fresh way to appreciate the history of art and to understand that a self-portrait is far more complex and meaningful than merely a portrait of the artist.
Inspired by the stories the author read to his possibly illiterate Sicilian grandmother as a child, these nested narratives are told by couples traveling through hallucinatory, romantic landscapes. As the traveler in "Self Portrait with Sicily" rides a train through the Bronx, boundaries between worlds, geography, and generations blur, transporting him through Sicily and the rural landscape of his Nonna. On a honeymoon in Spain, the narrator of "Self Portrait with Bullfight" decides that "forbearance" is the key to a lasting marriage and proceeds to try the patience of his new bride with a long-winded tale of the "frisson of rivalry" between two youths vying for the attentions of a Gypsy woman. In "Self Portrait with Cheese," an allegory about a family of bears that flees the circus only to languish, bored, in their freedom, offers a convoluted fable about the needs of artists. Tuten's (The Green Hour) polished stories of beauty, longing, and loss are relatable, yet strange enough that they constantly pique--Publisher's Weekly.
Fourteen artists and picture book illustrators present self-portraits and brief descriptions that explore their varied ethnic origins, their work, and their feelings about themselves.
Featuring artwork from a wide range of contributors, this resource explores creative self-portraits through fun and easy exercises and essays that instruct and inspire artists working in all media. Examples of collage, fiber arts, and mixed-media artwork offer visual inspiration while essays throughout the book act as a guide to personal and artistic self-discovery. Step-by-step techniques and creative prompts are used to direct artists through different approaches to creating self-portraits while exercises utilizing collage, drawing, photography, and stitching will jump-start the creative process and get ideas flowing on paper and fabric, encouraging artists to express themselves in new ways.
The lifetime work of recently discovered street photographer Vivian Maier has captivated the world and spawned comparisons to photography's masters including Diane Arbus, Helen Levitt, Lisette Model, Walker Evans and Weegee. Now, for the first time, Vivian Maier: Self-Portrait will present the fullest and most intimate portrait of the artist herself with approximately 60 never-before-seen black-and-white and colour self-portraits culled from the extensive Maloof archive, the preeminent collector of the work of Vivian Maier.
A dazzlingly original and ambitious book on the history of female self-portraiture by one of today's most well-respected art critics. Her story weaves in and out of time and place. She's Frida Kahlo, Loïs Mailou Jones and Amrita Sher-Gil en route to Mexico City, Paris or Bombay. She's Suzanne Valadon and Gwen John, craving city lights, the sea and solitude; she's Artemisia Gentileschi striding through the streets of Naples and Paula Modersohn-Becker in Worpswede. She's haunting museums in her paint-stained dress, scrutinising how El Greco or Titian or Van Dyck or Cézanne solved the problems that she too is facing. She's railing against her corsets, her chaperones, her husband and her brothers; she's hammering on doors, dreaming in her bedroom, working day and night in her studio. Despite the immense hurdles that have been placed in her way, she sits at her easel, picks up a mirror and paints a self-portrait because, as a subject, she is always available. Until the twentieth century, art history was, in the main, written by white men who tended to write about other white men. The idea that women in the West have always made art was rarely cited as a possibility. Yet they have - and, of course, continue to do so - often against tremendous odds, from laws and religion to the pressures of family and public disapproval. In The Mirror and the Palette, Jennifer Higgie introduces us to a cross-section of women artists who embody the fact that there is more than one way to understand our planet, more than one way to live in it and more than one way to make art about it. Spanning 500 years, biography and cultural history intertwine in a narrative packed with tales of rebellion, adventure, revolution, travel and tragedy enacted by women who turned their back on convention and lived lives of great resilience, creativity and bravery.
Art Workshop for Children is not just another book of straightforward art projects. The book's unique child-led approach provides a framework for cultivating creative thinking and encourages the wonder that comes when children are allowed to freely explore the creative process and their materials. As children work through these open-ended workshops, adults are guided on how to be facilitators who provide questions, encourage deep thinking, and help spark an excitement for discovery. Children explore basic materials and workshops that use minimal supplies, and then gradually add new materials to fill the art cabinets as well as new skills and more complex workshops. Most workshops are suitable to preschool-aged children, and each contains ideas for explorations and new twists to engage older or more experienced artists. Interspersed throughout are sidebar essays that introduce perspectives on mess-making, imperfection, the role of adult, collaborative art, and thoughts on the Reggio Emilia method, a self-guided teaching philosophy. These pieces underscore the value of art-making with children, and support the parent/teacher/care-giver on how to successfully lead, question, and navigate their children through the workshops to result in the fullest experiences.
The first chronicle of the whole story of female self portraiture through the centuries—a key work in the study of women’s art For centuries, women’s self-portraiture was a highly overlooked genre. Beginning with the self-portraits of nuns in medieval illuminated manuscripts, Seeing Ourselves finally gives this richly diverse range of artists and portraits, spanning centuries, the critical analysis they deserve. In sixteenth-century Italy, Sofonisba Anguissola paints one of the longest series of self-portraits, from adolescence to old age. In seventeenth-century Holland, Judith Leyster shows herself at the easel as a relaxed, self-assured professional. In the eighteenth century, from Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun to Angelica Kauffman, artists express both passion for their craft and the idea of femininity; and the nineteenth century sees the art schools open their doors to women and a new and resonant self-confidence for a host of talented female artists, such as Berthe Morisot. The modern period demolishes taboos: Alice Neel painting herself nude at eighty years old, Frida Kahlo rendering physical pain on the canvas, Cindy Sherman exploring identity, and Marlene Dumas dispensing with all boundaries. Frances Borzello’s spirited text, now fully revised, and the intensity of the accompanying self-portraits are set off to full advantage in this new edition, now in reading-book format.
Merry Christmas! The internet phenomenon #DrawWithRob is now a fantastically festive art activity book for you to draw with Rob at home... The second book based on the viral videos seen everywhere on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, TV, and more, from the creative genius and bestselling author Rob Biddulph! Christmas is different this year, with more families at home and wondering what to do! Pick up your pencils and join thousands of children around the world and #DrawWithRob - celebrating Christmas has never been so much fun! The first DRAW WITH ROB activity book went to Number One in the charts and was named 'Book of the Year' at the 2020 Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards! Now every family can share this fantastically festive new art activity book for Christmas. Join Rob and learn to draw your favourite Christmas characters - from Polar Bears to Elves and from Father Christmas to a Snowman, this perfect present is packed with arts, crafts and festive fun. The bestselling and award-winning author/illustrator Rob Biddulph is the genius behind the phenomenal, viral sensation that is DRAW WITH ROB and the accompanying activity book, and now the sensational DRAW WITH ROB AT CHRISTMAS - bringing joy to families everywhere with his easy to follow instructions and warm-hearted humour. So whether you're in home education, home-schooling, learning to draw or just having fun, let Rob show you that anyone can learn to #DrawWithRob! *WITH PERFORATED PAGES SO YOU CAN EASILY TEAR OUT AND DISPLAY YOUR ART!* Rob's original hit videos are also available at www.robbiddulph.com, and on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, with Rob appearing on TV to talk about them too. Perfect stay-at-home fun for boys, girls, and everyone aged three to one hundred and three, and a wonderful introduction to Rob Biddulph's bestselling picture book range - including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize-winning Blown Away, Odd Dog Out, and many more! Available in all good bookstores and online retailers, and perfect for children who are learning to read - or just love to!