Art History Hotties: Self Portrait

Art History Hotties
Léon Bonnat, Self Portrait, 1855

By MISSY ROSENTHAL 

Throughout the years Gentlemen Quarterly has featured suave and debonair men on their covers,  such as Léon Bonnat's Self Portrait. If Bonnat had painted his portrait in today's society it would one hundred percent  be featured on one of GQ's covers.  As a result of his confidence and fashion sense, Bonnat takes his place as and Art History Hottie. He sports a fashionable brown blazer with a crisp white shirt. His pinky ring seems to glisten in the sunlight. Bonnat also looks directly at the viewer, to show his shear attractiveness. He even poses with what models call "the beauty shot."where there is a clean shot with a simple hairstyle that does not distract from their innate bone structure and overall pristine features.

The soft lighting and shadows make Bonnat's features pop. The life-likeness of his hair including the reddish tones also speak complete hotness. He even places himself in front of mountain peaks to appear even more appealing to his audience, as a well-traveled, sophisticated man.  Léon Bonnat is most well known for his portraits of celebrities. By painting himself, he states that he himself has reached celebrity status. 

Bonnat, a french painter, was greatly influenced by the work of Diego Valázquez. Bonnat emulated Valázquez by the use of dark colors surrounded to vibrant whites and browns. Bonnat's use of these hues self portrait frames his figure more and creates a central focal point in the work. In conclusion, Léon Bonnat's Self Portrait makes the list of art history hotties because of his dynamic pose, bold fashion sense, and impressive choice of scenery. 
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Self Portrait

Kazimir Malevich

Malevich, Self Portrait, 1933
 The Russian Revolution was winding down, and a new government emerged from within the rubble. The injustices that the people vocalized were temporarily quelled, and Russia put down their weapons of civil destruction to welcome the government’s new Stalinist regime. While the change in power placated Russia’s public, artists quickly realized that Russia’s acceptance of modern abstraction died with Lenin and Trotsky.

Stalin’s regime rejected modern art, condemning them as a type of “bourgeois” art that did nothing to represent contemporary society. As a result, many works of art were confiscated, and painters now had to follow a set of guidelines through which to paint their future works.

Kazimir Malevich, founder of the Suprematist movement, gained international recognition before he returned to Russia. While his return to St. Petersburg offered the artist a nostalgic feeling of comfort, the artist was quickly derided for his suprematist paintings, which often consisted of geometric shapes and fundamental colors.  Critics complained of the drab-ness of his paintings, arguing that a black square did nothing to represent the injustices of society or knowledge gained from his travels.

The Stalinist government confiscated Malevich’s works, offering the artist only a blank canvas and small black book of “artistic guidelines” that they recommended him to follow. As a result, Malevich’s Self Portrait of 1933 followed all of Russia’s guidelines.  To the perusing eye, the audience would catch no hint of the artist’s rebellion.  The Russian government accepted the painting and displayed it at their next convention.

It was not until the Stalinist regime collapsed, however, that the government noticed the small-superimposed image of a black and white box located at the bottom right corner of the portrait. Malevich had autographed his portrait, the same portrait that Stalin had previously deemed “acceptable” and “respectable in all forms,” with the embodiment of anti-Stalinism. The black and white box was a  Suprematist logo.

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