Reflections on the Self:
From Dürer to Struth

2 JUNE – 5 SEPTEMBER 2015 | LONDON, CHRISTIE’S MAYFAIR

Christies Mayfair presents Reflections on the Self: From Dürer to Struth, an exhibition exploring the art of the self-portrait. Spanning Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) to Thomas Struth (B. 1954), the exhibition seeks to juxtapose various forms of self-portraiture in order to examine the complexity of this self-scrutinising visual genre. As a symbol reflecting on the intellectual and cultural climate of the artist’s time, the self-portrait has taken many forms: from a milestone chronicling an artist’s questioning psyche throughout his life, to the guised self-image as a mere gesture or idealised symbol.

The exhibition unites a range of works by artists that have championed the art-form in different ways, and who have sought to expand the parameters of the genre beyond the traditional notion of the self-portrait as a window into the artist’s soul. The works presented range from distinctively readable figures to abstract imprints and mere traces on the canvas. In an age where the self-portrait has arguably become one of the most popular visual genres, not least through the rise of the selfie, this exhibition seeks to enrich our understanding of its powerful function in shaping ideas of the self and identity.

Featuring over 50 artists and 70 works, the exhibition will highlight the different formats and styles artists employ to depict themselves across a range of media including painting, print, sculpture, collage, and installation. The exhibition begins with The Bathhouse (circa 1496-97), a rare 15th-century woodcut by the first prolific self-portraitist, Albrecht Dürer, and includes works by Maurizio Cattelan, Marlene Dumas, Lucian Freud, Francisco Goya, Richard Hamilton, Barbara Hepworth, Martin Kippenberger, LS Lowry, Sarah Lucas, Henri Matisse, Henry Moore, Edvard Munch, Albert Oehlen, Rembrandt van Rijn, Rudolf Stingel, Thomas Struth, Andy Warhol and many more.