self-portrait

American  

[self-pawr-trit, -treyt, -pohr-, self-] / ˌsɛlfˈpɔr trɪt, -treɪt, -ˈpoʊr-, ˈsɛlf- /

noun

1. a portrait of oneself done by oneself.

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self-portrait British  

noun

1. a portrait one draws or paints of oneself

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Etymology

Origin of self-portrait

First recorded in 1830–40

Explanation

If you draw a picture of yourself, it's a self-portrait. Vincent van Gogh was well-known for his many self-portraits, painting more than 40 of them over the course of a few years. Whenever an artist creates a portrait of herself, whatever medium she uses, the result is a self-portrait. A six year-old can draw a self-portrait in crayon, and a famous sculptor can sculpt one out of clay. In the mid-15th century, Early Renaissance painters were the first to focus on creating deliberate self-portraits; this was probably due partly to the fact that mirrors had just recently become affordable and fairly easy to find.

Example Sentences

The final sections of the research consider whether modern descendants share physical similarities with Leonardo's famous self-portrait.

From Science Daily • May 4, 2026

He would sit by the lake watching the sunset, and one stormy evening - while eating takeaway Pad Thai - decided it would make a "funny, sad" self-portrait.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

The show includes some early gems, including her 1926 self-portrait and 1933’s “My Dress Hangs There,” a grim view of New York City she painted during a weekslong stay there with Rivera.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Therrien’s exploratory, artistic bird-flipping isn’t parody, like German artist Anselm Kiefer’s prickly self-portrait photographs raising a Hitler salute in front of ruined landscapes.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

Maybe he wants his poem to look as good as his self-portrait.

From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes