self-portrait

American  

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

noun

self-portraits plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• self-portraits
  plural

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

A 2012 self-portrait shows a startled, wan Mr. Hockney unhappily staring at the viewer as if we’ve just interrupted a rare moment of peace; it’s a radical departure from his usually cheery depictions of himself.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

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

“I was 20 or 21 then. I’d had a psychotic episode and was taken to a public hospital in Massachusetts,” says Palm Springs-based artist Lisa McCord of the self-portrait she later staged.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026

Yeah, it’s definitely time to try a self-portrait.

From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes