The article provides an analysis of the relation between the representation types used in autobiographies and self-portraits on one hand and the element of visibility on the other. In autobiographic writing, authors sketch a portrait immersed in the flowing of time, thus reflecting the evolution of their personality. Painters have to seize a meaningful image of themselves in the "fugacity of a face" and, transposing what is being reflected in the mirror into the limited space of a painting, they are subject to the organizational constraints posed by formal elements, i.e. dimensions, colours and technique. Despite displaying a number of genre similarities, for they aim at creating an image of the Self, autobiographies and self-portraits serve different purposes. In self-portraits, besides leading to the emergence of the artist's physical salience, the representation of the Self is instrumental in conveying the painter's artistic personality and testifies of his aesthetic choices. In autobiographies, the representation of the Self results from a reflection exercise aimed at gathering a better understanding of oneself and one's relation with the world.
