If you haven’t yet been to the Saatchi Gallery‘s fascinating exploration of the history of the selfie from the old masters to the present day, you’re in luck because the exhibition has been extended until July 23rd.
The art of the selfie. Sounds like an oxymoron, when everyone with a smart phone equipped with a camera can snap a selfie at any point with varying degrees of aesthetic success. But self-portraits have long been a part of art, with artists like Michelangelo, Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo all exploring the form during their careers.
In partnership with Huawei, From Selfie to Self-Expression is the world’s first exhibition to explore the selfie and celebrate the creative potential of a form of expression often derided for its inanity.
It is within these walls that the answer to, “What do Rembrandt and Kim Kardashian have in common?” will become clear. Both are classified as self-portraitists. Rembrandt painted around 50 images of himself throughout his career, never looking happy, as the years left their marks on his dour features, while Kardashian has published an entire book of her Instagram selfies.