Article Response

Right off the bat, I found it very interesting that the term selfie is so heavily tied only to smartphones. The connotations are so linked to technology that people forget we can originate the “selfie” back to renaissance times in the form of self portraits. Take away the technology, and a self portrait is essentially a selfie that predates modernity. Furthermore, it’s very interesting to see how the status of selfies and self portraits has changed following the integration of technology. Self portraits were meant to depict social and economic standings, while selfies are accessible by nearly everyone and can be taken in the blink of an eye. I learned something new while reading this, and that is the fact that Jan van Eyck is known to have made the first self-portrait known to man. I love his works, especially the incredibly famous Arnolfini Portrait. This added one more layer to his brilliance that I had not known about. It is crazy to think about the fact that someone was the first person to ever make a self portrait. I never thought about the fact that there was a time before mirrors, a time where people really didn’t know what they truly looked like. This makes so much sense as to why people didn’t start self-portraits until the renaissance. The production of high quality mirrors allowed artists the opportunity to paint a subject anytime they wanted; themselves. Durer’s use of light and composition is honestly breathtaking. His ability to portray himself in such an elegant depiction is jaw dropping. Reminds me very much of Caravaggio.