FROM
EMPERORS TO HOI POLLOI: PORTRAITS OF AN ERA, 1851-1945
November
22, 2002—June 24, 2003
Self
For centuries, artists have recorded their own appearance for posterity. While this may indicate a certain degree of pride, the cheapest and most available model for an artist is oneself. Yet capturing one's own image can be a demanding and complicated endeavor.
Before the advent of photography, the artist might peer into a mirror in order to record a physical likeness. Later artists found new ways to capture a self-image using the multiple perspectives made available through photography. Some early twentieth-century portraitists used an unnatural color palette, distortion, and montage to reflect the complexity, fragmentation, and alienation that is an elemental part of modern life. Self-portraits indicate an artist's physical and psychological preoccupations. They are also an arena for experimenting with the technical aspects of the artist's craft—composition, texture, and color.
Self-portraiture as a genre has many accepted conventions. The artistic principles guiding the artists working in this period were established over centuries. Represented here are works of art that demonstrate the artist's prowess; the artist in the studio or with the tools of the craft, such as paintbrushes or canvas; the artist shown among family or friends; and the artist posing as someone else, usually a well-known character or historical figure. William A. McCloy's self-portrait illustrates the artist's interest in the longstanding traditions of artist self-portraiture through his direct citation of such a work by the German Renaissance painter Albrecht Dürer.
Self-portraits of artists working in the United States during the interwar years comprise a large portion of the portraiture holdings. In many cases, a self-portrait accompanies other works by the artist in the collection. These figurative compositions, which had fallen out of favor in the years following the Second World War when abstraction dominated the artistic scene in the United States, are now being reassessed. Using a contextual, rather than a solely aesthetic, approach, they can be appreciated as exemplars of a multifaceted and meaningful period of artistic production.
FEATURED
OBJECT:
Cartoon,
Self-Portrait as Artist, c. 1943
William Ashby McCloy (American, 1913-2000)
Madison, Wisconsin
Graphite, charcoal, Conté crayon, chalk on paper
Credit: The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection, The
Wolfsonian–Florida International University, Miami Beach
TD1995.23.1
Photo: Silvia Ros