This title offers an insightful illustrated history of self-portraits by well-known artists from early examples in classical times through its flowering in the Renaissance to modern interpretations. This is the only volume to cover this subject in a lavish, large format HB In his fascinating survey, art historian, Omar Calabrese reveals that self-portraits through the ages are both a reflection of the artist and of the period in which the artist lived. Organized thematically, the author first presents a basic definition of the genre of the self-portrait. The next chapter focuses on the turning point for the establishment of the genre during the Renaissance when the status of the painter or sculptor was raised from artisan to artist and, as a result, portraits of the artist were considered worthwhile pictures. Among the 300 pictures featured here are examples by such artists as Albrecht Durer, Velazquez, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, Ingres, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gainsborough, Matisse, James Ensor, Egon Schiele, Frida Kahlo, Man Ray, Henry Moore, Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell, and Roy Lichtenstein. This intriguing book is a fresh way to appreciate the history of art and to understand that a self-portrait is far more complex and meaningful than merely a portrait of the artist.