a week without mirrors

as someone who should probably look in the mirror more often, this shouldn't be terribly difficult. the idea is an exercise from twyla tharp's book – the creative habit – designed to clear time and mental space to focus you. 

make-up mirror 1950s by thurston hopkins

mary jane russell in dior by louise dahl-wolfe

outtake from a series taken by mark shaw for LIFE magazine in 1960. pictured is a model wearing dior.

couple d'amoureux dans un petit café by brassai

a bar at the folies-bergère by édouard manet

the comtesse d’haussonville by ingres

las meninas by diego velazquez

just above the infanta margarita's head is a mirror reflecting the king and queen, though some believe it may instead be a reflection of the painting the artist (velazquez) is working on.

another velazquez - the rokeby venus

rubens's venus in front of the mirror

 rauschenberg's tracer

if you look in the upper right corner, you can see rubens's venus with her mirror & the dark-skinned maidservant behind the red box. this was one of my favorite paintings to stop at when i worked at the nelson. as soon as the students made out the profile of the maidservant, their eyes lit up as if they had just seen a rainbow.

venus with a mirror by titian

the arnolfini portrait by jan van eyck

detail of the mirror

another ingres – madame moitessier

 

new york, réflexion by jean-marc bernard

a building near times square reflected as seen from the artist's hotel room window on the 34th floor.

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could you go a week without looking in the mirror? 

 image credits: 1) surfaceview; 2) louise dahl-wolfe: a retrospective by vicki goldberg; 3) andrew wilder gallery; 4)  metropolitan museum of art; 5) getty museum of art; 6) artnet; 7) museo nacional del prado; 8) the national gallery, london; 9) liechtenstein museum; 10) nelson-atkins museum of art; 11) national gallery of art; 12-14) the national gallery, london; 15) yellowkorner