500 Self-Portraits

Selfies lovers always existed but now it became so much easier.This book is the collection of selfies from the past.

Really helps me in my class about self portraits

Very useful for portrait practice

Being the feminist that I am, there is not enough female self portraits included in this book. I liked the price very much. Thank you.

This is a simple book but very satisfying. There is very little text. The 6 page Introduction by Julian Bell is the only narrative but it is a wonderful introduction to the subject of self-portraiture in western art. Each picture has a brief caption that lists the artist, her/his birth and death dates, title and date, a brief description of materials and size, and the location of the original. The portraits are arranged in the book in rough chronological order. At the end of the book is an index by artist and a list of acknowledgements.Each page consists of one self portrait as large as the page will allow with its caption description. One of the drawbacks to the book is that it is only 4.5" x 7", and the reproductions are small as a result. A larger format would have allowed for larger prints but would have cost more to produce.Sadly, the work limits itself primarily to western art and I was left wondering about the role of self portraiture in African and Asian art. Outside minor limitations of physical size and scope of coverage, the book is exquisite candy to the eye and mind.By century, the works break down as follows: 24th c. B.C.E. - 1; 9th c. - 1; 11th c. - 1; 12th c. - 1, 14th c. - 4; 15th c. - 35; 16th c. - 57; 17th c. - 78; 18th c. - 57; 19th c. - 89; 20th c. - 193. The compilers put all of an artists self portraits side by side. There are 10 Rembrandts, 4 Van Goghs, and 4 Picassos. There are also 45 self portraits by women.Geographically, the artists are from 36 countries. 26 of these countries are in Europe, 4 are in the Western Hemisphere, 3 countries are in the Middle East, 2 are in Africa and one in Asia. The index in the back of the book lists the countries the artists were born in or worked in, as well as their occupations and specialties. The countries represented are Armenia, Austria, Belorussia, Bohemia, Britain, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Flemish Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Moravia, The Netherlands, North Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine.I would have liked to have read this book with an encyclopedia of artists at hand. This is a valuable addition to any art library. Highly recommended.

I purchased this book as a gift for my father in law, an artist and it was very well recieved. I did not get to peruse it at my leisure becaue it was wrapped in plastic, but once I did I regretted not buying a copy for myself.

Good book for university on the subject

Very pleased