500 Self-Portraits [Hardcover]

A compelling collection of self-portraits from throughout recorded history, revised to include captivating contemporary works

The challenge of interpreting and recreating their own likenesses has proven irresistible to artists throughout the ages. Originally published more than 80 years ago and last revised in 2000, this wholly new edition for 2018 presents a selection of powerfully evocative works by many of the world's greatest artists - from Dürer and Rembrandt to Marina Abramović, David Hockney, and Cindy Sherman - working in painting, photography, sculpture, and performance. Flowing in a chronological sequence, with interspersed artist quotes, it features essays by Julian Bell and Liz Rideal. This is both a useful resource and a thoughtful celebration of a much-loved art form.

Julian Bell, grandson of the British artist Vanessa Bell, is a painter, writer, and regular contributor to theTimes Literary Supplementand theGuardian.

Liz Rideal is an artist, curator, and lecturer in fine art. She has worked for over 30 years with the National Portrait Gallery in London.

"This newly published edition curates a collection of chronologically ordered self-portraits that explore and express the many ways in which artists have found to represent themselves throughout the years... Perfect for both the art-obsessed and the selfie-obsessed, incorporating, a variety of artistic techniques, profound imagery and modern culture into one book, encapsulating the reader in a wonderful journey throughout the ages about, what we now refer to as, the selfie."—CentMagazine.co.uk

"80 years and a World War have passed since Phaidon first published500 Self-Portraitsin 1937. Since then the world has changed irrevocably, but the desire to record and capture our own likeness is stronger than ever. The selfie has made the self-portrait a ubiquitous preoccupation, not just the pursuitl3+