Self-portraits have been created by man from ancient times through to the Middle Ages and beyond, for many different reasons and in many different forms.

Juliet Heslewood, art historian and author of Mother, Lover and Child, brings together a compelling collection of artists' self-portraits, and tells the stories behind each of the artworks featured. Looking at each work, considering its individual history and examining the motivations behind its creation can reveal much about the artist, and about the time and place in which it was made. The images are shown chronologically, and the changing nature of the subject can be seen as time rolls forward over centuries to the present day.

From Durer, Da Vinci and Rembrandt, to Van Gogh, Matisse and Kahlo, the book features over forty self-portraits and provides a fascinating combination of biographical anecdote and art history.

Features work from the following collections:

Louvre, Paris

Muse e Picasso, Paris

V&A, London

National Gallery, London

Tate Gallery, London

Ashmolean, Oxford

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

National Gallery of Art, Washington

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Sistine Chapel, Rome

Uffizi, Florence

Prado, Madrid

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam