Wenbo Time and Space Author Du Yijie The "Visual Heart and Shadow - Self-Portrait Exhibition of Masters Collected in the Uffizi Gallery" currently being held at the National Museum presents a total of 50 self-portraits of artists, and the works span nearly five centuries. Strolling in front of the paintings that could only be seen in the "Vasari Promenade" of the Uffizi Gallery in Italy, Raphael, Rubens, Bernini, Rembrandt, Velaz Western masters such as Katz, Jacques-Louis David, Ingres, Corot, and Chagall seem to be whispering in their ears, telling the brilliance of "human beings" and reflecting the "truth" that is reflected and obscured in the mirror.
Mirrors and mirror images
In Antonio Giocchi's self-portrait on display, the painter seems to be peeping at the viewer through a small hole cut in the wall. After looking closely, people will inevitably fall into the treacherous maze carefully created by experts in trompe l'oeil paintings. The self-portrait is both a picture-in-a-picture and a mirror suspended from a nail with a sky-blue ribbon. The artist seems to be standing where we stand, gazing at himself on the other side of the mirror, and the mirror. Reflected in: the relief medallion of the ruler of Florence and Habsburg Emperor Leopold II in 1789, the inverted porcelain teacup, and the clay pots that appear repeatedly in his other paintings, symbolizing the taste of classicism The plaster statue of Pegasus, the draping fabric depicting the myth of Pegasus, quill and ink, compasses and ruler... both far and near, all-encompassing, reflecting the painter's broad interests, and pointing out that he served the emperor proud of.
Antonio Giorgi's "Self-Portrait"
The portrait in the mirror reflected by this small mirror is the best metaphor for self-portrait. The self-portrait proves that the author owned a mirror and knew how to use it. Raphael completed his own portrait according to the mirror. Spanish court painter Velasquez owned as many as ten mirrors. The first professional female artist in Western art history, Lavinia Fontana, in order to break the stereotype that women cannot paint nude models, is said to have posed different goddesses in front of the mirror and then painted them.
Lavinia Fontana's "Judith and the Head of Holofernes"
in the collection of Davia Bargelini Gallery, Bologna, Italy
The medieval fascination with mirror imagery greatly increased people's demand for mirrors and interest in self-portraits. People in this period clearly saw their eyebrows, eyes, ears and nose for the first time in the high-quality crystal glass mirror, as if they glimpsed the shadow of the soul in that moment of self-gazing. Painters were fascinated by these transparent mirrored surfaces, and some reflected their own tiny figures on the curved edges of the saint's shield in the altarpiece - in Flemish, "shild" and painter (schilder) The two words are quite similar.
The painter in front of the mirror is both an actor and a spectator. In order to enhance the drama and realism of the works, the artist will increasingly use himself as a model when extreme or fleeting expressions need to be depicted. Rembrandt, a prolific self-portrait painter, used his own face as a prototype to copy all kinds of human beings. Mirrors were once used as miniature "cameras" in much the same way people take selfies with their phones today.
and more importantly, the concept of mirroring. Plotinus in the third century A.D. made the earliest philosophical discussion on self-portraits, and believed that the creation of self-portraits is not an external mirror, but a mirror of the inner soul, which is a kind of introspection and introspection. The original meaning of the word "reflection" is to look at oneself from a certain mirror.
In the distant past, people used to look at portraits with awe, because they thought that while preserving the likeness of the artist, he was somehow able to preserve the soul of the person he depicted. Self-portraits, more than portraits, are products of memory, myth, and imagination.
In Leonardo da Vinci's eyes, if the painter is articulate and quick in action, the characters he expresses will be so vigorous; The other is like a living God of Laziness.The figure "often resembles the painter," which is "one of the faculties of the mind," and it is the duty of judgment. Philosopher Bacon also held a similar view in his later years: human understanding is like an unreal mirror, which has no rules for receiving light, and integrates its own characteristics with the characteristics of all things, so that the characteristics of all things become Distorted, fading the original color.
"Every painter paints himself". This dominant theory of the self-portrait during the Renaissance holds that all painters unconsciously incorporate something of themselves into the figures they paint. No matter what character is painted, it seems to be more or less an unintentional self-portrait, with traces of appearance, demeanor, posture, personality and overall style, as if they are mirror images of themselves one after another. This catchphrase is inspired by the ancient Greco-Roman notion that a man's works and actions, good or bad, reflect his basic character and personality and reflect his soul. The catchphrase's popularity in 15th-century Florence also had to do with a growing awareness of individual style in art. People look to God, and they also look to themselves.
Reflected and shaded
With the help of mirrors, the self-portrait created by the artist will last forever, and this perfect self-portrait proves that the artist's reputation is indeed well-deserved. In Vanity Fair, some self-portraits play the role of icing on the cake, self-fulfilling prophecy. But on the other hand, the “mirror portrait” of self-portrait reflects not just a narcissistic face, but a fluid relationship. Freestanding self-portraits are also largely a humble self-declaration of the artist. They seem to be the least commercial of the crafts, almost art for art's sake, and self-portraits are still often regarded today as the most autonomous of all art forms, created spontaneously by the artist without commission. created works. This kind of painting does not belong to anyone, because the object has nothing to do with the owner, and every detail denies ownership of it just because of the identity of the owner. Self-portrait is part of the painter's language, and the painter uses it to explain "what I look like" and "what I believe in".
Goya's "Self-Portrait", in the Museum of Fine Arts, Agen, France
The Spanish court painter Goya made this idea possible, and in most of his self-portraits, he was the first one who was almost absurdly obsessed with expressing himself An artist who has an intimate relationship with his art, he often paints himself as a painter with paintings. In a bust self-portrait, his bloated belly is pressed against the sloping canvas, almost matching the tip of his pen. Painting blends together. Morandi, who also holds a palette and brushes, seems to have materialized himself into those dusty, unremarkable bottles and jars under his brush. Van Gogh was transformed into a chair. He once drew his own exclusive chair, and used the material and structure of the chair to show his perception of himself.
Giorgio Morandi's "Self-Portrait"
Van Gogh painted at least 36 self-portraits, determined to use portraits as a tool for self-expression. He believes that oil painting portraits have their own life, which comes from the depths of the painter's soul. Once, he wrote in a letter to his younger brother Theo: "Although it is not easy, if one day I can paint my own portrait well, then I can easily paint portraits of other men and women in the world." In 1889, he again He added in a letter: "People often say that it is not easy to see yourself clearly. I firmly believe in this, and it is not easy to draw yourself." Lasquez's masterpiece "The Lady of the Palace" has a similar technique to Antonio Giorchi's self-portrait. What the painting expresses is not the depiction of the painter's expressionless face, but the creation of the scene, the relationship between characters, background and props. "Lady of the Palace" is written by the self-portrait protagonist who stares at the viewer and wears the key of the Spanish royal gate in this exhibition. It is the most ambitious declaration of the status of easel painting.The means of perspective and trompe l'oeil used in this oil painting play such a decisive role in the painting that it was called "the theology of painting" by almost contemporary critics of Velasquez.
The couple dimly reflected in the mirror behind the stage also came from the royal family who collected Van Eyck's "Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple". Witnesses, shadowy and humbly portrayed themselves in the mirror. The resounding manifesto written on the wall above the mirror makes the painter known and seen in front of the stage: Jan van Eyck is here, 1434. In the mirror at the back of the room, the whole scene can be seen reflected from behind. This new method of painting can be likened to the legal use of photographs officially signed by witnesses. For the first time in history, the artist becomes a real, unquestioned witness.
Van Eyck's "Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple", hidden in the British National Gallery
In the well-known "Lady of the Palace", the audience seems to be standing in front of Antonio Giorgio's self-portrait, peeping like a hole . In front of another canvas in the canvas, what the painter Velazquez painted may be the faces of the king and his wife reflected in the mirror at the other end of the room. The audience's perspective is actually the perspective of the king and his wife. The center of the canvas is the young Princess Margarita, but the title "Lady of the Palace" itself refers to the two maids on both sides of the princess. On the right of the stage in the foreground of "The Lady of the Palace" are two dwarfs, a man and a woman. The presence of the king and his wife is recorded by mirrors and by the outward gazes of the multitude of protagonists, who are drawn as hazy and divine miniature figures, near and far. The mirror here is no ordinary mirror. Although this mirror is unusually large, it does not reflect the other characters in the studio.
Velázquez's "Lady of the Palace", hidden in the Prado Museum in Madrid
The role of the dwarf trapped in the child's figure is to highlight the perfection of the royal children. At the same time, the dwarf and the clown are also revealing an upside-down world. Velázquez showed a painting that moved the backstage into the foreground, showing what happened in the painter's studio in a behind-the-scenes scene. The visual and conceptual mysteries in the picture are like a private court game, and the painter who has the key to open the royal door is the host and shaper of this game. The most daring reversal belongs to the mirror images of the king and his wife. Not only are they extremely small, but the queen also stands in the honorable position on the right of the king. Velázquez transformed the butler who opened the door for the king and his wife into a double painter, forming another set of mirror images. He raised his right hand to push the curtain aside, like a painter's hand about to apply paint to a canvas, and his left hand held a palette-like hat. He was standing by the door, whose paneled shapes resembled the back of Velázquez's canvas. The canvas placed on the ground is like some kind of giant door to people.
Velazquez's "Self-Portrait"
As the court painter of King Philip IV of Spain, Velázquez's main task is to paint portraits of the self-proclaimed king and members of the royal family, turning those portraits into something that has never been seen before The most captivating painting masterpiece ever. It has been said that Velázquez compared his relationship with the king to that of Apelles and Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great visited Apelles' studio and granted him the exclusive privilege of painting himself. Regarding his own identity, the painter provocatively left an open question.
Velázquez seems to have accepted the role of the painter as a jester, and even enjoyed it. He keeps company with the five-year-old princess and her dwarfs and clowns. He painted this portrait on a canvas the size of a history painting (318 cm x 276 cm), the figures are mostly small and occupy only the lower half of the frame. Despite "elevating" himself to the highest position of all figures, Velázquez still cannot reach the highest point of the canvas he is painting. This may be a kind of self-metaphor left by him. The essence of "Gong'e" is about the transformation of perspective and the relationship between subject and object.
The royal couple reflected in the small mirror at the far end may be exactly what the court painter wanted to highlight: the client, owner and viewer of the painting. What the mirror cannot accommodate may be a kind of self-reference that he has half concealed: as an imperial painter, his appendage is just like that of a court lady to a princess.
In the self-portraits on display, Velázquez unabashedly highlights his unusual relationship with the royal family. However, in the intricate "self-portrait" of "Lady in the Palace", he used a more secretive conception to describe the step-by-step relationship between the painter and the patron. What this mirror reflects and obscures may be the identity motif that many painters need to examine throughout their lives: what is the relationship between them and what they need to please outside their own vision and power, and under this power relationship, their Where are the boundaries of freedom of expression?
reference books:
"Self-Portrait Cultural History"
pictures | Du Yijie
typesetting | Xiaoxie
design | Zitong
