science

Triple Self-Portrait

Triple Self-Portrait is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Triple Self-Portrait rather than just read about it. In short: Triple Self-Portrait is an oil painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell created for the cover of the February 13, 1960, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. Description Triple Self-Portrait is an oil painting on canvas measuring 34.5 by 44.5 inches (88 cm × 113 cm).

Key takeaways

Triple Self-Portrait belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Triple Self-Portrait to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Triple Self-Portrait from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Triple Self-Portrait is an oil painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell created for the cover of the February 13, 1960, edition of The Saturday Evening Post.

Description Triple Self-Portrait is an oil painting on canvas measuring 34.5 by 44.5 inches (88 cm × 113 cm). Set in a white void, it depicts a rear-view Rockwell sitting at an easel producing a self-portrait. A gold-framed mirror topped with an eagle is set up to the left on a chair; Rockwell can be seen in its reflection as a thin and bespectacled man. On the chair in front of the mirror sits a glass of Coca-Cola and an open book. On the canvas in front of the illustrator is an unfinished sketch of himself in his idealized art style. On the right side of the canvas Rockwell pinned self-portraits by Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, and Picasso. A piece of paper with sketches sits on the left. In total, there are seven self-portraits depicted in the work.

Reception According to Michele Bogart, the painting shows that Rockwell saw himself as split between an artist and an illustrator. According to Deborah Solomon, by not painting his eyes in the reflection, Rockwell shows that he rejects "the popular myth of artists as heroic seers". Further, she sees the work as Rockwell's "manifesto" by depicting the way American Realism is divorced from the reality found in a mirror. Alexander R. Galloway disagrees with Solomon's interpretation and reads the painting as avoiding questions about how artists build meaning instead of answering them.

References

Citations

Bibliography

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Triple Self-Portrait

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Triple Self-Portrait claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Triple Self-Portrait before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Triple Self-Portrait ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Triple Self-Portrait

In research: Triple Self-Portrait appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Triple Self-Portrait in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Triple Self-Portrait is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1960 paintings, Mirrors in art, Paintings about painting, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Triple Self-Portrait outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Triple Self-Portrait in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Triple Self-Portrait means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Triple Self-Portrait out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Triple Self-Portrait in simple terms?

Triple Self-Portrait is an oil painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell created for the cover of the February 13, 1960, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. Description Triple Self-Portrait is an oil painting on canvas measuring 34.5 by 44.5 inches (88 cm × 113 cm).

Why does Triple Self-Portrait matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Triple Self-Portrait?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Triple Self-Portrait.