This image is remarkable for being perhaps the very first Northern European self portrait painting in which the artist shows him or herself at work! It is not the first self portrait of course, but artists tended to show themselves in their finest attire and at leisure or in prayer, similarly to the way they portrayed their wealthy patrons or church officials. This is, I believe, the first known instance of the working self portrait in the history of European painting, by either a man or a woman. The Flemish artist Caterina van Hemessen painted this small work in oils on a wood panel, inscribing the piece with these words "I Caterina van Hemessen have painted myself / 1548 / Her aged 20"... This self portrait is probably her best known work but she went on to a healthy career making portraits of wealthy men and women, usually posed against a dark or neutral background. [http://womenintheactofpainting.blogspot.nl/2012/10/]