Seeing Ourselves: Women's Self-Portraits

by Frances Borzello

Overview

The first chronicle of female self-portraiture through the centuries, now available in paperback.

For centuries, women’s self-portraiture was a highly overlooked genre. Beginning with the self-portraits of nuns in medieval illuminated manuscripts, Seeing Ourselves finally gives this richly diverse range of artists and portraits, spanning centuries, the critical analysis they deserve. In sixteenth-century Italy, Sofonisba Anguissola paints one of the longest series of self-portraits, from adolescence to old age. In seventeenth century Holland, Judith Leyster shows herself at the easel as a relaxed, self-assured professional. In the eighteenth century, from Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun to Angelica Kauffman, artists express both passion for their craft and the idea of femininity. The nineteenth century sees the art schools open their doors to women, as well as a new and resonant self-confidence for a host of talented female artists, such as Berthe Morisot. The modern period demolishes taboos: Alice Neel painting herself nude at eighty years old, Frida Kahlo rendering physical pain on the canvas, Cindy Sherman exploring identity, and Marlene Dumas dispensing with all boundaries.

Frances Borzello’s spirited text and the intensity of the accompanying self-portraits are revealed to the fullest in this inspiring book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780500294024
Publisher:	Thames & Hudson
Publication date:	03/12/2024
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	523,985
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Frances Borzello is an art historian and the author of several books, including The Naked Nude, Seeing Ourselves: Women's Self-Portraits, and At Home: The Domestic Interior in Art. She lives in England.

Table of Contents

Preface 6

Introduction: The Presentation of Self 18

1 The Sixteenth Century: In the beginning 40

2 The Seventeenth Century: A new self-confidence 58

3 The Eighteenth Century: Professionals and amateurs 76

4 The Nineteenth Century: The opening door 134

5 The Twentieth Century: Breaking taboos 140

6 Into the Future: The feminist impact 180

Conclusion: Drawing Breath 224

Notes 248

Select Bibliography 250

Artists' Biographies 251

List of Illustrations 264

Index 268

Acknowledgments 271

Editorial Reviews

In her fifth book, social art historian Borzello has "tried to make sense of what I was seeing by treating the self-portraits as painted versions of autobiography." Borzello has chosen vivid self-portraits of women from middle ages to the present that reveal cultural characteristics of an era as well as ideographic inclusions of the artist's perception of herself. As in every autobiographical sketch, imagery is selective. Thus many portraits of earlier centuries are modeled on those of male painters, palette on one arm, brush poised in the other, both indicating serious intent. But despite this earlier evidence of fine self portraiture, it was not until the late 19th century that art began to be recognized as a legitimate and significant field for women. Borzello's text, accompanied by the 240 well-chosen illustrations (100 in color) is a history of the marked separation of male/female domains in daily life, as well as women's ability to skirt prevailing male traditions and portray an inner life that transcended domesticity. The transition from subtle details — the setting the portraitist chose for herself, the style of dress and hair, the placement of her hands — to the startling freedom of 20th-century imagery that revealed women artists as "independent and unshackled by conventional notions of feminine behavior" is arresting. The visual manifestation of how women see and represent themselves may seem elusive, but Borzello does a fine job of illuminating the subject, without overly simplifying it.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Books of this high caliber are few and far between in feminist art history. Borzello, a specialist in the social history of art, aimed to "present women artists' self-portraits as a genre in its own right." She succeeds admirably, creating a work that is exciting yet factual, inspiring without indulging in hyperbole, and that stands as one of the finest single volumes on women artists appearing in at least a decade. Written in elegant prose that will draw in even casual readers, it bears a wealth of new material on both well-known and practically unknown artists, with 240 illustrations — 100 of them in large format and excellent color. After the preface and introduction, there are separate chapters covering the 16th through 20th centuries, with headings that range from "the presentation of self" to "breaking taboos," and comments called "drawing breath." For example, of the late 1960s Borzello writes, "These were the glory days of feminist art, when indignation fueled the artists and everything seemed possible." To demonstrate, she discusses Louise Bourgeois's "Torso/Self Portrait," c.1963-64, and Sylvia Sleigh's "Philip Golub Reclining," 1971. A landmark work; essential for all academic and large public libraries.
— Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Towson University, MD

Library Journal

The art-historical methods Borzello employs serve ultimately to anchor past mirrors of subjectivity rather than to disappear them....provides a history that reminds readers of the physical facts of the body and soul as well as their tranformations into the visual metaphors and myths of arts.
— The Women's Review of Books

Arlene Raven

Women artists have been painting self-portraits since the 12th century but, notes Borzello, a specialist in the social history of art, the genre has received surprisingly little attention. Her thorough, lucid study goes a long way toward providing a remedy for that oversight. Women artists have painted themselves for the same reasons as male artists — to call attention to their skills, to emulate the self-portraits of past masters, to express elements not appropriate to other kinds of subject matter, such as wit or a sharp sense of social criticism, and to boldly announce particular beliefs about art. But they have also done so for some unique reasons: to claim a place among serious artists, to explore the often peculiar status of women in Western societies, and to examine the issue of feminine beauty. Borzello traces women's self-portraits across eight centuries, deftly weaving together art and social history, the biographies of many women artists, and a wide selection of paintings, prints, and photographs by women. While some of the pieces are primarily of historical interest, there are some stunning works here, including period works by such accomplished painters as Artemisia Gentileschi and Rosalba Carriera and modern works by such little known but talented painters as Zinaida Serebryakova and Lotte Laserstein, and paintings by such familiar figures as Frida Kahol and Paula Modersohn-Racker. A fascinating monograph, and a particularly useful contribution to both women's studies and art history.

Kirkus Reviews