What has it meant for artists from all periods to portray their own faces? Nothing like a self-portrait, like a self-representation, allows us to grasp the essence of an artist in his time, his self-narration, the way he saw himself, his social role and his vision of the world, but also his intimate exploration and projection of himself, the way he wanted others to see him, to understand his work, his style. In the self-portrait the painter divides himself between the dual role of model and artist. The eye rests on itself, portraying the image of both self and alter ego. Sign, trace, memory and reflection, to be translated into a definitive image, played out in time, against time, beyond time. With the power of the image, the figure of the man looking at himself summarises the question of knowledge and meaning: who am I? Beginning with the myth of Narcissus, who recognised his own face when he looked into the pool of water, this question has resonated through the centuries in every form of art: from the masks of ancient theatre to floor mosaics, from illuminated manuscripts to drawings, from painting to sculpture, to video art, and all the way to the now common and everyday act of taking a selfie.
The exhibition brings over 200 works to the rooms of the San Domenico Civic Museum, from antiquity to the 20th century, celebrating art through the artist. The intention is to host portraits of the great protagonists of art history: Caravaggio, Tintoretto, Tiziano, Pontormo, Rubens, Balla, Guttuso, De Chirco and Bill Viola, to name but a few; focusing particular attention on female artists, with particular attention also to female protagonists who, for some inexplicable reason, tend to be neglected (Lavinia Fontana, Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi, Angelika Kauffmann, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and Berthe Morisot).