Me, Myself and I

Why Self Portraiture?

Although very closely linked and comprising almost identical elements , self- portraiture and portraiture remain too very seperate entities. The simple matter of changing the subject of a piece from a 'sitter' to the artist itself adds so much more to mix than just a change of perspective. It conjures up far more thought about the mood and style to be portrayed and also the execution of this. In terms of the itdentity of the piece, due to the artist being the only 'protagonist' involved within the portrait it becomes a lot more subjective and personal to the artist and a lot more truthful as a portrait, as all decisions are made by one person rather than a portrait of a person that portrays the onlookers work rather than the individual in focus. A great quote i found that summed this up is by Oscar Wilde:

“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”

This quote also encourages the notion that all portraits must contain some element of self portraiture within them.



Another quote in relation to this is by John Singer Sargant, which really hints at the sheer truthfulness a portrait requires in order to be an accurate representation.

"Every time I paint a portrait I lose a friend."



John Singer Sargant - The Fountain