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Self-Portraits

There isn't much to say about self-portraits. You know what they are. The challenge is to come up with a recognizable representation of yourself. The next unit has sketches that should help you get the proportions of your head right.

Many famous artists have painted self-portraits. Here are a few.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 - 1669)

Rembrandt painted many self-portraits. Some of them were very much unappreciated because he included himself in group paintings that had been commissioned from him. The solo painting below was executed in 1660.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

Van Gogh also painted many self-portraits. One of the best known is this one, painted in 1889, with his head wrapped due to his recently cut-off ear. Note the ukiyo-e painting in the background. Van Gogh was a great fan and owned many of them, some of which were the inspiration for paintings of his own.

Norman Percevel Rockwell (1894 - 1978)

Rockwell was a beloved artist best known for his magazine covers and sense of humor. This is seen in his 1960 triple self-portrait below. If you look closely, you can see self-portraits of other artists he used for reference, including one by Van Gogh.

Hina Dolls

March 3 is Girls' Day in Japan, a holiday that celebrates ... you guessed it ... girls. Other names for it are Hinamatsuri, Doll Festival, and Momo no sekku. The last means Peach Festival, included on this day because March is when peach blossoms come out.

A major part of Hinamatsuri celebrations is the display of hina dolls, dolls that represent aristocratic figures from feudal Japan. The practice began in the Heian Period (794 - 1185). A complete display consists of 15 dolls arrayed on tiers with a variety of other objects and foods. The picture below shows two of the dolls, representing Japan's emperor and empress, which are always placed on the top tier.

Kitagawa Utamaro (1753 - 1806)

Famous for his ukiyo-e paintings of women of the demimonde, Utamaro shows here women getting ready to set up a display for hinamatsuri.