Each artist has a unique style, and despite the fact that these styles can be similar in practice, the individuality of each artist proves as a form of distinction in their respective works. Self-portraits provide us with the ability to distinguish the differences between respective artists in two aspects- the artist’s style, and the artist’s view of himself. In self-portraiture, the artist would typically utilize the idea of “self-presentation,” in which the self-portrait was carefully contrived to represent only the best of its subject. For instance, many self-portraits contained royal attire, jewelry, or anything that can make the subject seem elevated in the eyes of the audience.
Today, through all the technological advancements, the art of self-portraiture has essentially undergone an evolutionary phase, giving rise to a new phenomenon that has taken over pop culture, the selfie. During the stages of the early Renaissance, divinity and the church were the main ideas being represented in all artwork. Many famous artists, such as Giotto and Cimabue, painted beautiful masterpieces of Jesus and the church in their respective time (Crivello, 1). As the Renaissance progressed forward, the idea of humanism came about, yielding a major shift the world of art.
Humanism was an era where there was more emphasis on humans over the divinity, so, in essence, it makes sense for the art to shift away from the church. A new form of art that surfaced was the self-portrait. A self-portrait does not simply function as a piece of artwork that represents a specific person; rather, there is a deeper meaning and intentional features added within the artwork that offer us insight into the life of the artist. Artists, such as Albrecht Durer, provided us with several self-portraits, allowing us to learn about what occurs within the process of the masterpieces. In regards to art, Durer states: “The more precisely the forms in your work are compatible with life, the better it will appear. That is the truth. So never imagine that you can or should attempt to make something better than God has allowed his created nature to be. For your ability is impotent compared to God’s creativity” (Dürer in Ashcroft, 2012, 386).
To me, this quote raises a red flag of controversy. Durer is essentially saying that nothing in the world, which includes humans, should be altered while being reproduced in art, however, Durer has used self-fashioning in his paintings. Self-fashioning is a term that was introduced by Stephen Greenblatt in 1980 in reference to Renaissance art. Greenblatt defines self-fashioning as, “the process of constructing one’s identity and public persona according to a set of socially acceptable standards.” In his work above, Durer utilized his clothing and specifically his gloves to elevate himself above the lower social class that he was born into. It is amazing how such subtle details illustrate an idea of greater clarity.
The caption of this piece of art is: “In Italy, I am a gentleman, at home, I am a parasite,” which solidifies the fact that he used certain techniques to elevate himself in the eyes of the audience. Furthermore, Jan Van Eyck, an artist in the 15th century Renaissance, further represents how artists used certain techniques that have deeper meanings. Van Eyck utilized self-presentation in many of his works. In his work of “The Portrait of a Man,” Van Eyck integrated several components with intention of providing deeper meaning. Firstly, he inscribed the phrase “ALS IK KAN,” which translates into “As I Can.” This is part of a longer phrase, which is “As I can, Not as I would” (Khan Academy, Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban).
Essentially, this was a humble phrase that means that this was his best job and he wishes that he could do better. Additionally, he inscribed the date on the bottom of the painting. Art historians believe that the date is significant to the painting itself. Van Eyck is looking right at us in the painting, and art historians are convinced that he looking at us through the history. Basically, the eyes are sort of aligned with the date to represent that Van Eyck did, in fact, intend to look at us through the history in this particular painting (Khan Academy, Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban). The occurrence of self-fashioning and self-presentation have been persistent and are still with the culture today.
These processes of photo editing are occurring a whole lot more within the selfie, a new and modified version of self-portraiture. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, A selfie is “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media.” The speed and convenience that come along with the selfie make it that much more attractive. In self-portraiture, the artist would amplify his/her good features and diminish the bad features while selfies have become the way of altering one’s image and presenting himself/herself with the best filter and lighting.
“Call it narcissism, call it art, call it whatever you want, the selfie is here and dominating the prestigious world of art” (“Selfie Vs. Self Portrait” 2017). Selfies are everywhere. The chainsmokers, a very well known music group, made a song called “selfie” that was a hit. All day long, people are taking selfies and posting them on Instagram, Snapchat, and a bunch of other media platforms. Kim Kardashian, the queen of selfies, came out with a book that was simply filled with selfies of herself. A little narcissistic? I think so too. I too am guilty of taking selfies. If anybody has told you they haven’t taken a selfie, let me be the first to say that they are lying.
It seems as though they are an integral part of the society that we live in today. The use of self-fashioning and self-presentation are even more utilized in modern societies and specifically through selfies. In today’s world, it would be a near-impossible task to find someone who would keep a selfie in which they didn’t think they looked good in. In the ones that they do find appealing, they proceed to share with social media. However, the process is not as simple as it sounds.
One would think that the subject would simply take the selfie and post it, while in actuality, there is self-fashioning and self-presentation occurring in a sly manner. Kim Kardashian has literally been caught photoshopping her photos publicly, which is classified as self-presentation (Cacich). People would do anything these days to look good for the camera. Between the Renaissance and today, there are still similarities between how the people of then and now continue to portray themselves to the public. Although self-portraits and selfies have many similarities at first glimpse, I do not believe that selfies are a modern version of a self-portrait.
I actually believe that calling a selfie a modern self-portrait does a disservice to all the amazing artists who devoted their lives to their work; It is essentially a mockery already that we compare the two. We, people who take selfies, complete the process in literally a maximum window of five seconds. The artists, who painted so carefully with extreme detail, would sit there for many days working on one piece. Also, selfies are typically a casual shot of the self that captures a memory or just for fun, while self-portraits are more structured and orderly. A self-portrait is more of a self-representation or what one feels about himself. Lastly, any person that has a camera is capable of taking a selfie, while only extremely talented and skilled artists were capable of creating self-portraits. To me, a selfie is just a photo that is taken for narcissistic purposes, which automatically eliminates it from being in the same conversation as the self-portrait.
It is unfortunate that many people do in fact believe that selfies are a continuation of the traditions of self-portraiture. Ultimately, I believe that a selfie is a poor man’s self-portrait. While it is impossible to ignore the apparent similarities between the two, there is just a different feel when I look at a portrait and a selfie. Considering that it was handmade, the quality of a self-portrait is too rich to compare to the selfie. Does it really make sense to be comparing great talents such as Durer and Van Eyck to contemporary selfie experts Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner? They do in fact both utilize means to elevate their self-representation, but at the end of the day, I strongly believe that they should not be thought of as similar processes.
