For more than two centuries, the woman in this famous portrait remained nameless. Although it may not look like it at first glance, this painting is a self-portrait.
Do not be confused by its original, demeaning title — Portrait of a Negress. Or by one of the headings under which it’s still listed in the Louvre Museum — Portrait d’une femme noire. This 19th-century painting by Marie-Guillemine Benoist is most assuredly a self-portrait.