The History of the Selfie: Then and Now

Kim Kardashian once stated that “[t]aking selfies is the purpose of life.” That being said, IWOOT takes a look at the history of the selfie and deciphers why we can’t live without a good self-portrait.

Since the earliest of times, mankind has depicted himself through art. On the cave walls of the Lascaux Cave, the sculptures on the Parthenon, and the many #selfies of Instagram, self-portraits have become a way of life. Taking off in full style during the Early Renaissance, it was mid-way through the 15^th century that artists regularly began to depict themselves as the main subject of their work. The earliest known panel self-portrait is Jan van Eyck’s Portrait of a Man in a Turban dating back to 1433. Many artists have used selfies to control the distribution of their own image. Often painting themselves in a flattering light, they created ‘enhanced’ versions of themselves much like the Valencia filter of today. We count down the top selfie stars of the past 6 centuries.