James HallThe Self-Portrait: A Cultural History

Wonderful book about art. Brand new and no damages. Has wonderful artworks.

helpful

The artist's place in, and meaning to, society has changed throughout history and the same is true of self-portraits. James Hall surveys the changes from the Middle Ages to the present day. His structure is to examine ten themes that fall fairly well into a chronological order. This works nicely and helps make sense of the give and take between the artist and his time (and patrons). Each chapter illustrates the theme with works of several artists, some well known and others not. Although not every work Hall describes is illustrated in the book he gets you to really look at those that are. In addition to the illustrations there are many quotes from the artists and their contemporaries that help see things in the light of their own time and place. Hall is scholarly without being dry or condescending. The book is well documented and includes a Select Bibliography of newer sources that are probably possible to find. Thames & Hudson are to be commended for producing a well made book on nice hefty paper to be pulled off the shelf over a period of years.I received this book compliments of Thames & Hudson through Goodreads.

Everyone knows now what a selfie is; no one knew before around 2002, the first citation found by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary. Before we had easy electronic photography, people might point their Brownies or box cameras toward a mirror for the same effect. And before photography, artists had for millennia looked at themselves and recorded what they saw. There are no webcam or smartphone selfies covered in _The Self-Portrait: A Cultural History_ (Thames and Hudson) by art historian and critic James Hall, but this is a splendidly comprehensive view of all the selfies that have gone before. The variety of expression on display here is amazing; of course there is a range of artistic styles over the centuries, but the themes of these self-portraits are just as varied, as the artist depicts the self with heroic overtones, or sentiment, or self-mockery, or pride. It is no wonder that we think that how the artist displays the form of the self to the world has some special meaning, and Hall carefully unpacks the portraits here, with anecdotes and histories that bring a new understanding to a vital part of artistic endeavor.Right at the beginning, in his introduction, Hall wants us to know it is not all about mirrors. There is the “mirror myth” that self-portraiture took off in the Renaissance due to the invention of the glass mirror. There were, however, mirrors of polished metal or even of pools of liquid, so if an artist wanted to depict the self, there was no lack of available images. The Renaissance boom in self-portraits was probably just part of the many booms of the period, and the mirror may have made self-portraits easier, but there had been plenty before. The first one mentioned here, indeed, is a sculpture from Bak, a chief sculptor to Pharaoh Akhenaten, a charming double portrait of the artist and his wife. There was no tradition of self-portraiture in ancient Greece or Rome (perhaps we think this simply because few such works survive), but despite the “mirror myth,” there were plenty in the Middle Ages. They were in manuscript illuminations, the arena within which scribes could express themselves and paint themselves. Albrecht Dürer, among his other famous self-portraits, did one in silverpoint at age thirteen, showing himself pointing offstage. The pose echoes paintings of the twelve-year-old Christ debating with the doctors of the church: “Even at the age of twelve the artist seems to measure himself against Christ - and does not find himself wanting.” There was a sub-genre of the self-portrait in the sixteenth century that went to an opposite extreme. In 1595, Caravaggio painted _Self-Portrait as Sick Bacchus_, showing the wine god with a wan smile, yellow skin, and dirty fingernails. “This smallish, hunched up sybarite is quite clearly our social and even physical inferior.” Of course the artists most famous for their self-portraits are here. Self-portraits account for nearly twenty percent of the productions of Rembrandt, drawings, paintings, and etchings. Hall reminds us that for all that the portraits remind us of the painter’s humanity, they functioned also as advertisements, informing potential patrons that he was still around and still skillful. They were not a diary or a project in autobiography; all were sold before he was declared bankrupt in 1656. Van Gogh may have painted himself for many reasons, but one of the big ones is that he didn’t have to pay himself any modeling fee. Also he scared off other models, so he was stuck with himself.Hall is the perfect guide for this wide-ranging tour. His selection of self-portraits is extensive, and while most of the ones he mentions are illustrated here, some are not, so it is handy to be able to look up images on the internet. There seem to be hundreds of reasons an artist might make a self-portrait, and Hall’s interpretations are sensible and expressed with clarity and wit. The pictures provide him with a rich field to survey for themes about artists and their societies, and it is a surprise that this is a territory that has been little explored before. Hall might have been lucky with his timing, with selfies continuing to be of interest to everybody, but this is a happy and serious book for anyone interested in art or art history. The selfies we have now from smartphones are simple pictures of the phones’ owners; but the point here is that the painted or sculpted self-portrait is never just a depiction of the artist.

The biggest issue with this book is that is scantily illustrated and the images tend to be quite small. One needs to read the book sitting at a computer to look up all the references the author makes because the vast majority are not pictured. It's a very frustrating experience. In addition the color is not very good.As to the copy. Well it's somewhat like reading a college essay. In each chapter the author tells us what he's going to say/argue, lays out his case, and then writes a summary paragraph at the end. It's tedious.I think the author is reaching a bit on some of his analysis, which tends towards the flowery, and shows little to no interest in the actual mechanism of the painting: how it was done, surface qualities etc. This is not universal as he does point out where an artist has painted thinly or where Rembrandt starts to build a crush surface.There are very few women mentioned and he misses the opportunity to address some paintings that are speculated to be self portraits, specifically Vermeer's "Astronomer" choosing instead to only discuss the "Artists Studio" with Vermeer (presumptively) showing himself from the back.Overall I think he's got a great premise for a very interesting book. But maybe in the next edition he could pack in more actual art work.

Self-portraiture has been a key art genre ever since the invention of the mirror as a reflective surface and happily some, such as Van Gogh&Rembrandt did so throughout their career.A comprehensive chronological cultural ramble through this key art element,in 389 pages,interspersed with 100+ small illustrations(paperback is only.15x23cm) and with the small print size is a major downside in an otherwise unique overview

Erudite, readable and beautifully put together study, a must for art students or anyone interested in the self portrait.

Good book really enjoyed it

Thank you! Very good materials!

If reference was made to where each illustration is, this book would be much less frustrating to read. There is no list of illustrations either so you can hunt and hunt before discovering the art work you're reading about isn't illuatrated in the book. I also find the speculation annoying. If we have no way of knowing what an artist 'must have seen', better not mention it?All this is a great shame because there fascinating information here and a great deal to enjoy.