Self-portrait

# 3

Oil paint on canvas, 16×16 inches. Handmade oil painting.

Масло, холст, 40 * 40 см

Self-portrait

Self-portrait is a special genre in art and, perhaps, one of the most difficult. If painters of other directions carefully study and try to convey on the canvas the nature of external objects, then the artist who writes self-portraits has to direct his gaze inward — to engage in deep self-examination. This task is so fascinating and inspiring for a creative person that many masters fell under its charm. For example, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence has a whole collection of self-portraits of artists. The collection began in the 16th century and today it is huge. Handmade oil painting.

See other paintings by Evgenia Zragevskaya here: Poppies

Perhaps the emergence of a self-portrait of the genre (and this is an independent genre) refers to the moment when the painter began to realize himself as a creator, separated himself from creation. However, the most widespread self-portrait was during the Renaissance. The reason for this was the cheapening and mass production of mirror production in the XIII-XIV centuries — in order to paint his own face, the artist needs a system of these familiar things. Not all masters painted themselves, but those who practiced painting portraits and self-portraits probably started in conditions when they could not afford the services of models, and therefore were forced to serve themselves as natures. An interesting series of works that were written by the master throughout his life. Here the beardless rosy-cheeked young man turns into a mature man, the surroundings, the expression on his face change, the first wrinkles appear on him … On the last canvases we already see a deep old man, whitened with gray hair and looking at the world with the serenity or harsh impartiality of a philosopher. The most famous series of such works belong to Rembrandt and Durer, the geniuses of self-portrait.