ArtsNational Perth - Self-Portraits
Self-portraiture in Western art was not born fully grown but rose with the status of the artist during the Italian Renaissance. Individual artists could at first only include themselves as minor characters in paintings of classical or Biblical stories, but with the invention of the studio mirror they began to represent ‘the look’ of ferocious concentration with which they captured themselves at work, even as they also appeared to gaze out at the unknown viewer. Professor Read traces the changing meaning of this lively ambiguity across the centuries in self-portraits by major artists including Rembrandt, Velázquez, Paul Cézanne and Barbara Hepworth.
Saturday 21 February 2026 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM (UTC+08)
Location
State Library of WA
25 Francis Street, Northbridge WA 6003
Contact Details