It is very well said that
“Behind every painting, lies a hidden portrait of the artist himself.”
From the early Renaissance days until today, master-artists through the ages
have left behind distinct signatures concealed in their artworks, deliberately
interleaving their own visages in the most unusual yet inventive ways.

While this unique sense of self-importance
surfaced in the Renaissance era, artists began incorporating their oil
paintings with humanist values wrapped with individualism and creativity. In
fact, these secretly worked self-portraits were usually found one-sided in
reflective objects, like mirrors.

Here, we list five of the best
self-portraits hidden by the artists in some of their most famous oil painting
on canvas:

“The Arnolfini Portrait” by Jan van Eyck (1434)

Here’s one of the world’ most appreciated paintings with
the artist’s mysterious self-portrait. Painted by none other than Van Eyck’s in
1434, ‘The Arnolfini Portrait’ became the talk of the streets with many
mysteries surrounding — does it lay testimony to a weeding? Is the woman
pregnant? What does the “Jan van Eyck was here” signature mean? And who are
those anonymous figures reflected in the mirror? Out of all the secrecies, what
made most people ponder about was the identity of its subjects.

What’s more; a lot has also been speculated about the
small convex mirror that is fixed on the wall behind the two figures. It
depicts two additional figures walking inside the room. While the bridegroom is
seen raising his arm as a sign of greeting, one of the figures in the mirror is
also portrayed returning the gesture. But here comes the surprise: One can also
spot right above the mirror images, Van Eyck’s flowery signature that quotes,
“Jan van Eyck was here.”

Whether the writings suggests that the mirror figures
represent the painter and his art assistant visiting his subjects, or is it the
other way around. This remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the
history of art.

“The School of Athens” by Raphael (1509-11)

Here’s one of the best
masterpieces of Classism painted by Raphael— the Renaissance self portraits’
master, depicting several revered ancient thinkers. From Ptolemy to Pythagoras,
the painting lays testimony to renowned philosophers of the renaissance, who’ve
collected at a historic marble hall with coffered ceilings.

While this classical fresco paints a genuine picture of
true Renaissance intellectualism, it also portrays how beautifully Raphael
combined his present era with the vaunted past. As per the words of his fellow
Italian painter Giorgio Vasari, ‘The School of Athens’ depicts Raphael’s
contemporaries as the philosophers. You can spot Bramante, who’s bent over a
chalkboard, Archimedes & Euclid who are believed to be engaged in a
conversation, whilst Michelangelo is assumed to be the face of Heraclitus.

Lastly, a deliberate look at the fresco earns you a
glimpse at Raphael’s curious face at the far right of the fresco, just next to
Zoroaster and Ptolemy.

“The Last
Judgment” by Michelangelo (1536-41)

Did
you know that the famous Italian Sculptor Michelangelo reviled the commission
to mastercraft the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel without his consent? His
sheer disliking is clearly reflected in a poem he addressed to his friend,
whereby the passionate artist moaned about his sorrow:

“My
brush, above me all the time, dribbles paints so my face makes a fine floor for
droppings!”

The
Renaissance self portraits master then painted the “The Last Judgment” to
cleverly express his frustration. In the midst of the famous fresco,
Michelangelo’s callously eyeless face can be spotted with a flagellated skin,
descending from Saint Bartholomew’s hand. 
The painting conveys how the martyred saint is adjudicating if the
artist would be off to heaven or hell!

“The
Little One Is Dreaming, Étude,” by Paul Gauguin (1881)

While it may sound unusual to
witness self-portraits in the classical art forms, it was relatively common for
the Impressionist artists to incorporate some of their glimpse in their oil
painting on canvas; as they would often depict their own portraits in the
backdrop of Parisian bars, cafes and parks.

But it was the French painter Paul
Gauguin who took the most eccentric approach to self-portraiture as he painted
“The Little One Is Dreaming, Étude.” The famous art depicts a child
lying asleep next to an uncanny, animated jester doll which stands beside the
crib.

Have another close look and you’d
realize that the face of the doll matches with nobody else other than the
French painter. It is believed that the master-artist wished to paint the toy
to be a hallucination of the little child’s dream.

P.S. It goes without saying that if that’s actually Gauguin’s face,
it’s unarguably more nightmare than a dreamy fantasy.

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