From the self-portrait to the selfie in art

In 1500, German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer painted himself in a way that recalls representations of Christ. His stern eyes stare right at the viewer of the painting. Without any frills, the artist portrayed himself as a modest creator. Such a self-portrait was unlike anything else at the time.

Anton van Dyck (1599-1641) was 20 years old when he did this self-portrait. He went to great lengths to give himself a dignified and elegant appearance. For art historians, self-portraits also describe the times: Van Dyck, who became the court painter of King Charles I in England in 1632, is more like a nobleman than a normal citizen. He was an outstanding portraitist - including of himself.

Rembrandt (1606 -1669) portrayed himself more often than any other artist before him. His self-portraits show him at various ages and in different roles, whether painting at the easel or like an Apostle. Through his self-portraits, he also studied how to reproduce the effects of aging. Like all of his works, these self-portraits were commissioned paintings and were very popular among buyers.

Caspar David Friedrich (1774 - 1840) was not a portraitist. He was rather renowned for his romantic landscapes depicting the changing seasons. He therefore produced very few self-portraits but, whenever he did, he paid great attention to details. His expressive gaze, his sandy wavy hair, his attitude: Friedrich depicted himself as a self-confident man.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) produced many famous self-portraits. Unlike Rembrandt, the Pop artist did not aim to provide a realistic representation of himself. Warhol slips into roles to deceive the viewer. There is nevertheless a similarity with Rembrandt: Just like the Baroque artist from Antwerp, the self-portraits were part of Warhol's brand.

The self-portraits of the British artist Francis Bacon (1909 -1992) appear painfully distorted. Bacon did his first self-portrait in 1956. He was inspired by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. He does not look very cheerful in these paintings. There is hardly anything human left on his self-portraits - they are rather monstrous, grotesque faces.

Cindy Sherman has one single artistic motif: herself. She poses in different roles - whether as Marilyn Monroe, a clown, a hermaphrodite or a sex victim. Through these staged self-portrayals, she repeatedly questions the stereotypes in our society's depictions of women.

The provocative German Martin Kippenberger (1953 - 1997) became a strongly acclaimed artist in the 1980s. In his self-portraits, he presented himself in varied ways, from a beaten-up teenager to a pudgy lump of flesh. By hiding his face on these self-portraits, Kippenberger displayed the limits of painting.

Thanks to his active presence on social media, Ai Weiwei has become an icon of the selfie. The Chinese dissident, who currently lives in Berlin, documents decisive moments of his life with his smartphone. He sends strong political messages with these self-portraits, such as this one, when the Chinese government returned his passport.