"Self- Portrait" – A Study of the 'Self':

1.1 Art, Research and the Investigation of the 'Self'
Picasso used to say "I never made a painting as a work of art, it's all research"(quoted in McNiff, 2007)
A painter is indeed a researcher, and the tools of his research are colours, canvases, paint brushes and
the language of art. Merleau–Ponty (in Kenaan, 2004) presents the artists as the ultimate
phenomenological researchers for their unique ability to see and expose what is hidden in the depth of
the visible. While investigating reality and exposing what is hidden, they interpret reality. Lorand (1991)
defines this as an interpretation that complements reality.
The artist is a subjective researcher of reality, hence any reality investigated by him, becomes his own,
inner reality. Therefore Whiteford (1987) says that each painting is, in fact, a kind of self - portrait. From
this we may infer that the artist who is actually painting a self - portrait is an investigating artist who is
clearly occupied with researching the 'self' (Tadmor, 1973; Peiper, 1983; West, 2004). An artist who
does this with devotion and consistency is thus writing a visual, autobiographical story (West, 2004).
Painters have had a number of reasons to be occupied with self - portraits; it depends on period, place,
culture and style. But all dealt, either openly or not, consciously or subconsciously, with investigating the
'self' (Tadmor, 1973; Peiper, 1983; West, 2004).
The most prominent among the artists who dealt with investigating the 'self' in a clear and deliberate
manner were those of the expressionistic school l (among them Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, Emil
Nolde and others from the "der Blaue Reiter" and the "Bridge" groups). They mainly sought their inner
reality. The language of art, the medium and technique were their research tools, and the manner in
which they painted helped them to shout and even show their shouting. It is no coincidence that this
stream, which gave expression to the movements of the soul, developed at the time that Freud
published and exposed for the first time his theory of the subconscious (West, 2004).This style
developed in the period between the world wars, at a time when the subject placed himself in the
centre, kicking the world, disappointed and withdrawn into his own world, and shouting from there
(Whiteford, 1987; Chilvers, 2003 ; West, 2004) (see chapter 4 – The Language of the Art).
Many years earlier Rembrandt investigated his physical appearance as it showed up in the mirror. It
seems as if he was occupied with researching the structure of the face, the anatomy, striving to improve
his ability to copy reality. But in fact, for many years he observed himself and at the end gave the world
a visual, autobiographical story. While he was busy, and in an investigative manner, deeply observing
the model of the painting (his image in the mirror) and working on the development of his proficiency as
a portrait painter, he was, in fact, investigating himself and documenting his life. He did not only
describe his inner world, but also the state of the body, the soul and the human spirit (Schildkraut, 1999;
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