When the 19th-century artist Nadar took the first ‘selfie’ in 1863, he wasn’t just taking a picture: he was in conversation with himself, expressed through the newest form of artistic invention.Īrtists no longer need an easel or paintbrush to make their own creative self-portraits. Since Jan Van Eyck’s “Portrait of a Man” in 1433, often considered the world’s first self-portrait, artists have captured and played with their own likeness to project themselves to the public’s eye in whatever way they chose to be perceived. For centuries, artists all over the world have used the self-portrait to express their individuality, creativity, and belief in freedom.
