Self-portraits (Basic Genre Series)

Is a self-portrait of an artist a medium of reflection—or is it merely a black void, the “false mirror,” as the surrealist René Magritte entitled his 1928 painting of an eye? Do self-portraits reveal how artists see themselves, or how they wish others would see them? From the 15th century to today, this collection brings together many of the best examples of self-portraiture in art history whilst exploring these and many more questions pertaining to the art of self-reflection.

Featured artists: Meister Gerlachus, Fra Filippo Lippi, Albrecht Durer, Giorgione, Parmigianino, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Salvator Rosa, Nicolas Poussin, David Bailly, Diego Da Silva Y Velazquez, Rembrandt Harmensz. Van Rijn, Rosalba Carriera, Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Francisco De Goya, Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, James Ensor, Pablo Picasso, Egon Schiele, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Frida Kahlo, Felix Nussbaum, Max Beckmann, Diego Rivera, Salvador Dali, Lucian Freud, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Albert Oehlen, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter

About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre Series features:

* a detailed introduction with approximately 35 photographs, plus a timeline of the most important events (political, cultural, scientific, etc.) that took place during the time period
* a selection of the most important works of the epoch; each is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and, on the facing page, a description/interpretation of the work and brief biography of the artist as well as additional information such as a reference work, portrait of the artist, and/or citations