The great painter and decorateur of the French monarch Louis XIV was Charles Le Brun. He was careful about the way he wanted to be remembered in history. His late 17th century self portrait is exposed in the Musée Histoire de Paris Carnavalet. Rightfully put in front of elegant red “tapisserie”, the selfie is remarkable for its attention to details. The hair is drawn with high precision and not a single one seems out of place. The painter does not focus on the person in front of him, but rather on some detail next to or behind the depicted Le Brun. The dress chosen is rather an ordinary person’s one or a person devoted to his work and artistic craftsmanship. No hands, no arms, no shoulders. The sole focus is on the head or should we say the brain and facial expression. Realistic painting is probably the closest you can get to today’s selfie-mania. Le Brun’s decoration and paintings in Versailles and churches ate probably some of the most popular backgrounds of selfiies even in the 21st century.
