Monday, September 28, 2015

Our toxic selfie culture



Parmigianino, My first selfie (1524). Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum.



Giovanni Bellini, Portrait-bombing Baby Jesus’ Big Day at the Temple (1460). Venice, Fondazione Querini Stampalia.



Maurits Cornelis Escher, Showing off my selfie globe (1935).




Jan van Eyck, Mirror selfie (1434). London, National Gallery.



Andrea Mantegna was tagged in a painting (1455). Berlin, Gemäldegalerie.



Andrea Mantegna was tagged in a fresco (1465-1474). Mantua, Ducal Palace.



Leonardo Da Vinci updated his profile picture (1515). Turin, Biblioteca Reale.



Marie-Denise Villers, I wish I had got the smaller model (1801). New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.



Frida Kahlo, What’s happening here then? (1939). Mexico City, Museo de Arte Moderno.



Alfred Hitchcock, Directorial selfie (in To catch a Thief, 1955).



Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Expressions of narcisissim are only to be permitted under the supervision of a qualified art technician (1597-1599). Rome, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica.



3 comments:

  1. Thinking also of J.S. Bach's frequent inclusion of the B-A-C-H (or B flat) in compositions of all kinds, and the tradition in casting bells for change ringing of including a verse celebrating the donor (see an example here).

    The Van Eyck is also dear to me because the little dog in the image is thought to be the Low Countries ancestor of the modern Norwich Terrier.

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  2. Which hints at a much bigger mystery: how did they keep that dog still?! My recollection of the Norwich Terrier is that it's... quite lively.

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  3. An excellent question. It's either a very old dog (I can confirm they start to be a bit quieter around the age of 15) or someone is holding a piece of hard cheese mesmerisingly aloft just behind Van Eyck's easel.

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