Mapping the cultural history of the self-portrait from the Middle Ages to the proliferation of self-images by contemporary artists, the art historian and critic James Hall explores a number of themes and the many motivations for making a self-portrait. Alongside paintings by famous self-portraitists such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Courbet and Edvard Munch, the discussion embraces many less well-known works by artists including Jan van Eyck, Perugino, James Barry and Frida Kahlo.