That said, there is no agreement whether Eadwig really depicted himself in this Psalter and, if he did, which figure he is supposed to be. Eadwig (fl.1012-1023), a monk of Christ Church Canterbury, was one of the most talented Anglo-Saxon scribes, writing charters, the Grimbald Gospels and part of the Harley Psalter, among other works. Some scholars have argued that the Eadui Psalter contains a self-portrait of its scribe and possible artist, Eadwig (also spelled Eadui) Basan. Other medieval images could be self-portraits, but this is more difficult to prove. 4v Right : self-portrait of John Siferwas with John Whas, from the Sherborne Missal, Sherborne, c. Left: possible self-portrait of John Siferwas with John, Baron Lovell, from the Lovell Lectionary, Glastonbury?, c. Siferwas drew himself next to the Missal’s scribe, John Whas.
1380-1421) presenting a work to his patron John, Baron Lovell, because its features and content resemble a labelled self-portrait of Siferwas in the Sherborne Missal. For example, some scholars claim the image below is a self-portrait of the artist John Siferwas or Cyfrewas (fl. In other cases, unlabelled self-portraits have been identified with comparison to labelled self-portraits by the same artist. Self-portrait of William de Brailes, from the de Brailes Hours, Oxford, c. If selfies never existed, we would know much less about this important figure in the history of book production, and about the way he presented himself. Although his self-portraits portray him with a tonsure, William did not depict himself wearing the habit of a religious order, and legal documents from Oxford suggest that he was based at a workshop on Catte Street, at the centre of the Oxford book trade. William and his workshop are important as some of the earliest known producers of books in England who were not based in a religious institution. Similarly, red letters next to two historiated initials in a 13 th-century Book of Hours ( Add MS 49999) identify the self-portraits of William de Brailes, the book’s artist. Self-portrait of Matthew Paris kneeling beneath the Virgin and child, Royal MS 14 C VII, f. He also conveniently labelled this self-portrait of him kneeling beneath the Virgin and child: ‘Frater Mathias Parisiensis’. We have other manuscripts which are known to have been copied by Matthew Paris, so we can be confident that the first part of this manuscript contains his handwriting and drawing. 6rįor example, the image above is a self-portrait of the noted medieval writer, scribe, artist and polymath Matthew Paris. Most known self-portraits are identified by nearby text which states or suggests that an image depicts its own artist.ĭetail of a self-portrait of Matthew Paris with his name, from the prefatory material to Matthew Paris’s Historia Anglorum, St Albans, c. However, even if we can identify the artist, how can we be sure that an image was intended as a self-portrait, rather than as an image of somebody else? This is where captions come in handy.
How can we tell if an image is a self-portrait? First, we can sometimes identify an artist by analysing brushstrokes, penwork, design or the accompanying handwriting, especially if the artist is well-known or worked on other manuscripts. He depicted himself kneeling before Christ in a manuscript now known as ‘St Dunstan’s Classbook’ ( Oxford, Bodleian Library, Auct F.4.32).
One of the earliest known manuscript self-portraits to survive from England was made by St Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury (d.
However, if we extend the definition of ‘selfie’ to cover self-portraits made with pen and ink, selfies have existed in Britain for over 1000 years. The Oxford English Dictionary limits the definition of ‘selfie’ to ‘photographic self-portraits’. Self-portrait of John Dee, mathematician, astronomer, occultist and adviser to Elizabeth I, from a genealogical roll, England, late 16th or early 17th century, Cotton Ch XIV 1 (Apologies to anyone whose holiday photos have been accidentally photobombed by a befuddled British Library curator.) But such curmudgeonly attitudes to self-portraitists overlook the fact that selfies have existed for a very long time and offer unique insights into some brilliant and multi-talented artists. It is tourist season here in London, so while dodging groups armed with selfie sticks and smart phones, it's easy to wish that selfies didn’t exist.
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