When artists turn their brush, camera, or chisel upon themselves, the result is a self-portrait - an image of the maker. A self portrait may be a straightforward depiction of the artist’s face, or a complicated system of symbols that reflects the artist’s perception of themselves. Artists may create self-portraits for many reasons—artist Vik Muniz begins each of his series of photographs, which show dazzling assemblages of unconventional materials like chocolate syrup, toys, or garbage, with a self-portrait. He wants to test the concept with an image of himself; if the concept turns out to be a bad one he won’t have offended anyone else, he says. As a result, Muniz has a large collection of self portraits that together reflect the progression of his career. Chuck Close is another artist who has made self portraits throughout his career. An early photorealistic painting shows the artist as a young man with disheveled hair and a foreshortened cigarette dangling from a lip, while a later photogravure reveals the weight of age. Both works closely frame Close’s face and he confronts the viewer with a direct stare.

Taking a different tack, some artists choose to represent themselves not through their visages, but through the objects that define them. Jim Dine, for example, closely associates himself with a cream and red belted robe; in some of his works, the robe takes the place of the artist. Artists like Cindy Sherman go to measures to disappear into their own artwork. While Sherman frequently models for her photography, she alters her appearance with costumes, wigs, and makeup such that she becomes unrecognizable. Whatever the iconographic strategy employed by the artist, a self-portrait can reveal much about the person and their work.