A mesmerising exploration into the relationship between women and self-portraiture, this book goes back in time by examining the faces that haunt early self-portraiture before taking a look at work of various modern women artists.

A true celebration of women artists, author Frances Borzello investigates how self-portraiture has been highly influential in breaking boundaries as well as opening up new artistic opportunities for women.

Featuring a diverse arrangement of inspiring women dating from the two earliest self-portraits of nuns in the 12th-century, through to Sofonisba Anguissola’s series of self-portraits from the 16th-century and Judith Leyster’s 17th-century work, a variety of 18th-century artists such as Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and Angelica Kauffman, as well as a look into how the changing political climate of the 19th-century which saw a welcoming of women into salons and art schools impacted the work of such artists as Berthe Morisot. The book finishes with a focus on modern women artists who are renowned for breaking taboos: Alice Neel, Frida Kahlo, Cindy Sherman, Marlene Dumas. .