Facing the World; Inspiring Impressionism – here’s looking at me

Scottish National Portrait Gallery; Scottish National Gallery, EdinburghFrom Rembrandt to Munch to Ai Weiwei on Instagram, the self-portrait proves irresistible. And Daubigny, anyone?There is a wry and unexpectedly beautiful photograph by Helen Chadwick that shows her hands gently cradling a human brain. It is titled Self-Portrait. This cannot be the artist’s own brain, of course, this disembodied object with its intricate, walnut-like folds; but are we our brains in any case? Here she is,