The Origination of the Self Portrait

Did you know that the self portrait is one of the earliest forms of art that contained a person as the focus? In the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century, artists first began identifying themselves as the main focus of a piece of art.

In the year 1433, Jan van Eyck painted what is now known as “Portrait of a Man in a Turban.” This piece may be the first self portrait that is known of in this day.

In the Renaissance, the self portrait became more popular and was often used to represent someone with high status and wealth.

This is a painting from the Renaissance. It is titled “Self-Portrait,” and is a painting on wood panel by the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. It was painted early in 1500, just before his 29th birthday, and is said to be very closely related to how Jesus Christ was depicted in paintings.

Now, self portraits are more easily created, through a wide variety of mediums including paint, pencil, water color, and even a camera phone!

What’s your favorite way to capture yourself? Do you like to take photos or create artwork that is representative of yourself? Show us on Facebook!