At what point does an artist paint a self portrait and why? Vanity...creative block?

Question

Immortality?

Answer 1

I agree it is partly to do with the answers above, true it is often the only person available to the artist and its a subject that is always available and always willing, but...

...i think there is a lot more to the self portrait than just that. In terms of vanity, in the broader sense of the word, It is perhaps a way of immortalising yourself, duplicating yourself in a way. Freud talks of the double as a kind of attempt to evade death and i reckon it has something to do with this desire on one level at least. But then that is a huge subject in itself, it is life and death, about what it is to be human, about attempting to escape the singularity of experience.
look at Van Goghs or Rembrandts portraits created at various stages of their lives as great examples of the subject - these are much more than just something to paint, they are attempts to come to terms with the very nature of being.

Answer 2

Why do you take your portrait with a camera? I'm not an artist paint wise but I'm sure it can help with your skills and back in the day when there was no cameras they could paint themselves and were probably more true to what they looked like than what someone else would have done.

Answer 3

A self-portrait is a portrait where the artist is also the subject. Usually it is in the form of a painting, drawing, or similar graphic image; however, self-portraits occur in other media such as sculpture, photography, cinema, literature, etc.; the latter portion of this list moves more toward what would commonly be called autobiography. Sometimes artists place their own image into group portraits, such as Diego Velázquez in Las Meninas. Some artists use likeness of themselves to portray other characters: the entire œuvre of photographer Cindy Sherman is in this mode. Some artists who suffered neurological diseases left self-portraits of themselves that have allowed later physicians to analyze disruptions of mental proccesses; and many of these analyses have entered into the textbooks of neurology.

For more see link below.

Answer 4

Why do lovers write poems?

Why do mothers sing lullabys?

Why did the painter stop at just this spot to paint the scene?

...what is the motive?

If you watch CSI, (motive) ....its why the killer did it. (usually money; revenge is second).

But the motive for writing, singing or painting is different.

They love words or music or color. The subject may change, but the motive is usually love.

Anyone who loves to paint will eventually try a self-portrait.

The ones who do it frequently have left us a record of more than just a collection of likeneses; they often show the changes, the ups and downs in the artist's life too.

Rembrandt was a story teller. He explored more than just a face; he tried to reveal the sitter's character.

My own self-portraits were done during a time of change. Changing careers, wives, homes, etc.

Answer 5

They can't get a model at the moment and need to paint a portrait. To record their own aging process. For practice. It's not an ego thing, it's the compulsion to paint something.

Answer 6

Oh this is much simpler than you think. As an artist it's important to learn to interpret what you see and translate it. What better way than to paint yourself and train yourself from what you observe - you are always available to yourself. Self-portrait painting is inclusive in all traditional art training.

Answer 7

not vanity i think,...perhaps the challenge of posing and painting...it is a challenge, you know. (atleast for me it is, of course i can't walk and chew gum at the same time, multi-tasking is out of the question), and i have only once attempted a self portrait, because i was instructed to...that whole deal was a disaster, God knows i tried, but it didn't turn out well at all. and i can do other things very well artisticly speaking, but a self portrait ain't one of them.

Answer 8

Paint what you know, therefore, paint yourself.

Answer 9

when hes ego has swelled up enough to make him think of "immortalising"! himself.

Answer 10

The cheapest model they can find....