ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Parmigianino created a purposeful paradox that hinges on the absent body of the artist to make a claim about the power of his art, and as such he furnished his self-portrait with particularly spiritual dimensions. Through its physical resemblance to a mirror, Parmigianino's tondo forcefully declares itself as divine reflection. Parmigianino brought the Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror with him to Rome in 1524, presumably to impress the city's noblemen, including the pope and his court, and gain work. Galeazzo Sanvitale was the count of the Rocca di Fontanellato, a court located about 20 kilometers from Parma. The artist is the assumed viewer of the work of art always fixed in front of his own reflection on the surface of the tondo. Once again, in the form of portraiture, Parmigianino simultaneously applies substitutional and performative models to declare himself as a divinely inspired and thus authoritative maker of religious images.
