A random survey of self-portraits created by women through the centuries
French painter Marie-Françoise Constance Mayer La Martinière (1775-1821)

Self-portrait, c.1801 / Oil on canvas / Bibliothèque Marmottan, Boulogne-Billancourt, France

Self-portrait, c.1801 / Oil on canvas / Bibliothèque Marmottan, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
![]()
Metamorphosis II, 1939-1940, by M.C. Escher (1898-1972) / https://mcescher.com/about/biography/
Woodcut on paper / Boston Public Library / https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:ww72cb78j
metamorphosis (noun) me-tə-ˈmȯr-fə-səs
1a: change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means
the metamorphosis of humans into animals
1b: a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances
The company has gone through a series of metamorphoses.
2: a typically marked and more or less abrupt developmental change in the form or structure of an animal (such as a butterfly or a frog) occurring subsequent to birth or hatching
the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metamorphosis

8. Metamorphosis of Narcissus, 1937, by Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)
https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/dali/bio-dali/
Oil paint on canvas / Tate, London, UK
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dali-metamorphosis-of-narcissus-t02343

9. Metamorphosis, 1948, by Zubeida Agha (1922-1997)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zubeida_Agha
Oil on canvas / Private collection
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/zubeida-agha-metamorphosis

10. Metamorphosis, 1954, by Fay Lansner (1921–2010)
https://www.faylansner.com/about/biography
Oil on canvas / Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/69324

11. Metamorphosis, 1964, by Bridget Riley (born 1931)
https://nmwa.org/art/artists/bridget-riley/
Wood, Liquid suspension / Centro de Arte Moderna, Lisboa, Portugal
https://gulbenkian.pt/cam/en/works_cam/metamorphosis-153359/

12. Metamorphosis I, 1974, by Stella Waitzkin (1920-2003)
https://www.kohlerfoundation.org/preservation/major-collections/stella-waitzkin/
Cast polyester resin and sandstone with paint and wood / Smithsonian American Art Museum, DC
https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/metamorphosis-i-25814

13. Metamorphose einer Frau, 1987, by Leonor Fini (1908-1996)
http://www.leonor-fini.com/en/biography/
Eight screenprints in colors mounted on a four panel wooden screen / Private collection
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/women-artists/metamorphosis-of-a-woman

14. Metamorphosis III, 1992, by John Thomas Biggers (1924-2001)
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/biggers-john-thomas-1924-2001/
Lithograph printed in brown on cream wove paper / Various collections
https://www.artnet.com/artists/john-thomas-biggers/metamorphosis-iii-QWzRsvjy0CJhSUtsJxZEfg2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, January 30: Metamorphosis in Art, Part 1 of 2
https://schristywolfe.com/2023/01/30/metamorphosis-in-art-part-1-of-2/
![]()
Metamorphosis III, 1967–1968, by M.C. Escher (1898-1972) / https://mcescher.com/about/biography/
Woodcut on paper mounted on canvas, partly colored by hand / Boston Public Library
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:ww72cb78j

Self portrait, ND / Miniature watercolor on vellum / Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden


2. Self-portrait, early 1940’s / Pencil on paper / Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum, Montgomery, AL

The Marginalian: Zelda Fitzgerald’s Little-Known Art
https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/04/15/zelda-fitzgerald-art/
![]()
Metamorphosis II, 1939-1940, by M.C. Escher (1898-1972) / https://mcescher.com/about/biography/
Woodcut on paper / Boston Public Library / https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:ww72cb78j
metamorphosis (noun) me-tə-ˈmȯr-fə-səs
1a: change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means
the metamorphosis of humans into animals
1b: a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances
The company has gone through a series of metamorphoses.
2: a typically marked and more or less abrupt developmental change in the form or structure of an animal (such as a butterfly or a frog) occurring subsequent to birth or hatching
the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metamorphosis

1. The Metamorphosis of Daphne by Master of the Judgement of Paris (active mid-15th C)
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/master-of-the-judgement-of-paris
Tempera on wood / The Barber Institute of Fine Arts
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-metamorphosis-of-daphne-33148

2. The Metamorphosis of Hermaphrodite and Salmacis, c.1517, by Jan Gossaert (c.1478–1532)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Gossaert
Oil on panel / Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands
https://www.boijmans.nl/en/collection/artworks/3731/the-metamorphosis-of-hermaphrodite-and-salmacis

3. Plate 5 from Dissertation in Insect Generations and Metamorphosis in Surinam, 1719, by Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/maria-sibylla-merian-metamorphosis-art-and-science.html
Hand-colored engraving on paper / National Museum of Women in the Arts, DC
https://nmwa.org/art/collection/plate-5-dissertation-insect-generations-and-metamorphosis-surinam/

4. Les Métamorphoses d’Ovide, before 1886, by Auguste Rodin (1840–1917)
https://rodinmuseum.org/collection/about-auguste-rodin
Plaster / Musée Rodin, Paris, France
https://collections.musee-rodin.fr/fr/museum/rodin/les-metamorphoses-d-ovide/S.02871?anneeDeCreation%5B0%5D=1886&position=91

5. Metamorphosis, 1908, by Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)
https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/piet-mondrian
Oil on canvas / Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Netherlands, gift of Sal Slijper
https://rkd.nl/en/explore/images/268881

6. Metamorphosis, 1917, by Gaganendranath Tagore (1867—1938)
https://indianhistorycollective.com/the-satirical-genius-of-gaganendranath-tagore-artistic-indianart-bengals-peasantryclass-cartoons-painting-master/
Collection of 16 lithographs bound in one volume / Various collections incl. V&A, London, UK
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1171926/metamorphosis-lithograph-tagore-gaganendranath/

7. Metamorphosis, 1936, by Herbert Bayer (1900-1985)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Bayer
Gelatin silver print / Various collections including The Met, NYC
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/265442
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, February 6: Metamorphosis in Art, Part 2 of 2
https://schristywolfe.com/2023/02/06/metamorphosis-in-art-part-2-of-2/
![]()
Metamorphosis III, 1967–1968, by M.C. Escher (1898-1972) / https://mcescher.com/about/biography/
Woodcut on paper mounted on canvas, partly colored by hand / Boston Public Library
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:ww72cb78j

Self-portrait, 1927 / Pastel on paper / Private collection

Threads of the Past, Inspiration for the Future, 2000 / Mixed media quilt / Fridman Gallery, NYC
“Taraxacum officinale, the dandelion or common dandelion, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant, well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of silver-tufted fruits that disperse in the wind.
The common dandelion grows in temperate regions of the world in areas with moist soils. It is most often considered a weed, especially in lawns and along roadsides, but the leaves, flowers, and roots are sometimes used in herbal medicine and as food.”
~https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_officinale
The Dandelion
O dandelion, rich and haughty,
King of village flowers!
Each day is coronation time,
You have no humble hours.
I like to see you bring a troop
To beat the blue-grass spears,
To scorn the lawn-mower that would be
Like fate’s triumphant shears.
Your yellow heads are cut away,
It seems your reign is o’er.
By noon you raise a sea of stars
More golden than before.
~Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/vachel-lindsay

10. Happy, Happy It Is To Be, illustration by Dorothy Pulis Lathrop (1891-1980)
https://www.bellusfineart.com/artists/dorothy-pulis-lathrop/
From Walter de la Mare’s Down-Adown-Derry, published 1922, Constable & Co. Ltd, London
https://archive.org/details/downadownderrybo00delauoft/page/58/mode/2up

11. “Certainly, I am a little wild,” remarked Danny Dandelion, illustration by T. Benjamin Faucett (1884-1966)
http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2013/03/ink-slinger-profiles-t-benjamin-faucett.html
From Frolicsome Flowers:They See the Wonderful Rajah Rug, written and illustrated by
T. Benjamin Faucett, published 1924, A. L. Burt, New York
https://50watts.com/filter/forgotten-illustrator/Frolicsome-Flowers-of-Evil

12. The Dandelion (Study for Hide-and-Seek), 1939, by Pavel Tchelitchew (1898-1957)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Tchelitchew
Gouache and watercolor on colored paper / Museum of Modern Art, NYC
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/36474

13. Une Costume ‘Pisenlit’ pour le ballet ‘Tristan Fou, 1944, by Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)
https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/dali/bio-dali/
Mixed media and collage on paper / Private collection
https://www.artnet.com/artists/salvador-dal%C3%AD/une-costume-pisenlit-pour-le-ballet-tristan-fou-0JOFE2LX4QngtRB1iuvBg2

14. Dandelions, 1945, by Kate Neufeld (1905-2004)
Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online~ bit.ly/3GZuDjF
Linoleum cut / Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1945.66

15. Dandelions, 1985, by Yayoi Kusama (born 1929)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yayoi_Kusama
Lithograph / Edition of 100, Various collections
https://www.artnet.com/auctions/artists/yayoi-kusama/dandelions

16. Dandelion Floor Lamp, 2003, by Matteo Bazzicalupo and Raffaella Mangiarotti
http://www.deepdesign.it/en/studio/biography/
Varnished sheet metal and polycarbonate / Museum of Modern Art, NYC
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/120852
Image: https://raffaellamangiarotti.com/Dandelion

17. Dandelion Eye, 2009, by Sylvia Fein (born 1919)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Fein
Egg tempera on board / Collection of the artist
https://hyperallergic.com/529354/sylvia-fein-matrix-275-bampfa-berkeley/

18. Dandelions, 2011, by David Hockney (born 1937)
https://www.thedavidhockneyfoundation.org/chronology
iPad drawing printed on paper / Archeus/Post-Modern Ltd., London, UK
https://www.archeus.com/artists/art-for-sale/dandelions-david-hockney?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, January 16th: Dandelions in Art, Part 1 of 2
https://schristywolfe.com/2023/01/16/dandelions-in-art-part-1-of-2/

Self Portrait (unfinished), 1910 / Oil on canvas / The National Museum, Oslo, Norway

1. Portrait of the Artist, c.1814 / Oil on panel / Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, UK

2. The Artist and Her Mother, 1816 / Oil on panel / Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, UK