Self-Portrait (1984) is a self-portrait by Jean Michel Basquiat. Although Basquiat claimed he did self-portraits only very occasionally, self-referential elements can be found in most of his work. (2) In both his portraits and self-portraits, he explores his identity as a man belonging to the African American lineage. Despite forming part of New York’s intellectual class and managing to create a place for himself in the difficult and selective art world, Basquiat never forgot his African American origins and identified with all the racial injustices he saw, as well as with the victories of the great black personalities.