Beauty of the Self

Long time no see blogging world... I took off in a zeppelin and the rest is history (if only). No, to be perfectly frank I've been exploring myself in the wondrous city that is New York. To slip back into the blogging coterie, I thought I'd honor this process by presenting some of my absolute favorite self portraits and some of my favorite people. I've chosen them mostly off of personal relevance or conceptual brilliance... bonsoir!
*all photos from this post were found on Google images

Chuck Close (1967)

Frida Kahlo (1943)

Andy Warhol (1967)

Stephen Colbert - this one is not a self portrait, but I thought 

I'd include it as it just recently was hung in the Smithsonian Museum.

M.C. Escher 

Rene Magritte 

Helmut Newton - I chose this for multiple reasons... one, the woman in this

 picture is absolutely stunning, and she just so happens to be his wife. Secondly, 

it is considered a "self portrait" although he clearly is not the main focus of the shot. 

And lastly, it completely reflects the raw beauty of the rest of his works.

John Lennon 

Pablo Picasso 

Van Gogh

Irving Penn (in my opinion, whose self portrait evokes 

but doesn't justify the beauty of his photography)

Portrait of Giselle Bundchen by Irving Penn

Harlequin Dress by Irving Penn

 (as with Newton, the model is Penn's wife!)