Self-Portrait as a Chimera

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

c. 1880

Sarah Bernhardt (French, 1844–1923)

French actor and artist Sarah Bernhardt was perhaps the first global superstar, with legions of admirers spread across Britain, continental Europe, North and South America, and as far afield as Australia. In this fantastical bronze inkwell, she portrayed herself as a chimera, a mythological creature composed of disparate body parts. Here, Bernhardt joined her human torso and head to clawed haunches, bat wings, and a dragon-like tail. The work is a key example of her inspired use of visual media to fashion and promote her own image.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist: Sarah Bernhardt
Title: Self-Portrait as a Chimera
Place: Paris (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1875–1885
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 31.8 × 34.9 × 31.8 cm (12 1/2 × 13 3/4 × 12 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Constance T. and Donald W. Patterson and Pamela Kelley Hull
Reference Number: 2021.2
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/260045/manifest.json

Private collection, France, by 2012; sold Piasa Auction, Paris, June 29, 2012, lot 242, to Robert Zehil Gallery, Monaco; private collection, New York, NY, by 2015; consigned to Colnaghi, Ltd, London, 2020; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2020.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.