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Matejko was the author of several pictorial self-portraits, created at various periods of his artistic career. This self-portrait, the only one in the shape of a tondo, was painted for Helena, the daughter of the painter, and was given to her by the artist for her twentieth birthday, on 6 April 1887. On the bottom right of the picture, the following dedication appears: 6 | 4 | AD | 1887 | (for) HELI (from) father Jan.

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Matejko was the author of several pictorial self-portraits, created at various periods of his artistic career. This self-portrait, the only one in the shape of a tondo, was painted for Helena, the daughter of the painter, and was given to her by the artist for her twentieth birthday, on 6 April 1887. On the bottom right of the picture, the following dedication appears: 6 | 4 | AD | 1887 | (for) HELI (from) father Jan.
In 1938, it still belonged to Helena's husband, Józef Unierzyski.
The artist presented himself in a short bust, with his head turned in 3/4 profile to the right, wearing glasses, with shoulder-length hair, moustache and a beard. In the background, one can see a frame with a cloth stretched in it. The self-portrait was probably painted in the atelier in the artist's home.
Matejko's secretary, Marian Gorzkowski, noted in April 1887: “At the beginning of April, the artist painted his own, small portrait on wood, which he managed to finish, with the help of a mirror, in one day. On 6 April, on the day of his daughter's birthday, he gave it to Helena as a gift. He told me that she really wanted it. We framed this portrait together in secret, so that Miss Helena, sitting in the next room, could not guess we had done so [...].”

Elaborated by Marta Kłak-Ambrożkiewicz (The National Museum in Kraków), © all rights reserved

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Self-portraits and “selfie” fashion ... The puzzle of the self-portrait

Currently, there is a fashion for self-portraits, popularly called selfies. Anyone can take them — using not even a camera — just a telephone. There is a narcissistic craving in us to show and see our own images. Once, creating a self-portrait was a process. Self-portraiture created the possibility of immortalising one’s image, while fulfilling the function of a tool of self-knowledge and self-reflection.

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Currently, there is a fashion for self-portraits, popularly called selfies. Anyone can take them — using not even a camera — just a telephone. There is a narcissistic craving in us to show and see our own images. Once, creating a self-portrait was a process. Self-portraiture created the possibility of immortalising one’s image, while fulfilling the function of a tool of self-knowledge and self-reflection. This served to explore one’s “I”, to encode information about oneself or play some kind of game with convention … to hide behind an image (Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz). This took various forms. An example of a multiple self-portrait is the painting by Pola Dwurnik: Mercy!. Out of the crowd outlined in the background, twenty-four images of the artist emerge; she is in a different mood and mental state in each.
The earliest known self-portrait was probably created in Egypt, around 2650 BC (Ni-ankh-Ptah). Self-portraiture was a rare phenomenon in antiquity (the self-portrait of Phidias, on the shield of Athena Parthenos, in the Parthenon in Athens). The Middle Ages saw the creation of idealized self-portraits; the author often painted himself as an individual assisting in a religious scene. An independent self-portrait appeared in the Renaissance as a result of raising the artist’s prestige and increasing the role of human individuality. According to the humanism of the Renaissance, the artist had become someone special, which is why artists often painted themselves turned towards the viewer (e.g. Albrecht Dürer).
Many artists painted self-portraits almost all their lives, thus creating cycles of their likenesses, including, among others, Olga Boznańska and Stanisław Wyspiański. In the case of Olga Boznańska, self-portraits are not only a reflection of the passage of time, but also the changing personality of the artist. The self-portrait of Józef Mehoffer is a faithful record of mood and moment; it reflects the intimate nature of the situation. One can even have the impression that it has the form of a sketch. Julian Fałat chose an unusual form of self-portrait; by blending his effigy into the Kraków panorama, Jan Matejko painted his self-portrait on a painting base in the shape of a circle.
Artists reveal themselves in a variety of different ways. It is typical to be presented at work, in a studio, or with family or friends (Stanisław Wyspiański with his wife). It also happens that they present themselves as historical, biblical, or mythological figures (Maurycy Gottlieb). The true master of this manner of self-presentation was Jacek Malczewski, author of the greatest number of self-portraits in the history of Polish art. Looking at them, it is hard not to suspect him of narcissism, but maybe this is just a sophisticated game with the viewer, a kind of planned show?
More self-portraits by Jacek Malczewski can be found in the following photo gallery: http://mnk.pl/fotogalerie/autoportrety-jacka-malczewskiego.

 

Elaborated by Editorial team of Małopolska’s Virtual Museums,
Licencja Creative Commons

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Poland License.

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Painting “Self-portrait” by Jan Matejko

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