The truth can often be expressed through the visual arts. But even then, the concept of truth, of authenticity, is contested. The true and false self are a combination of pathological perceptions that explain an individual's sense of self, as well as how defenses are used (Winnicott, 1960). The False Self is a psychoanalytic theory invented by DW Winnicott to explain the use of a defensive veneer. In comparison, the True Self is the theory that humans display an authentic self, a sense of reality. (Winnicott, 1960). In its most basic psychoanalytic form, the True Self refers to the activities of the ego. Winnicott theorized that the false self develops from early childhood and that the mother, the good enough mother to be exact, plays a huge role in the competent development of the True and False Self. (Winnicott, 1960). The exploration of the true and false self is most evident in works of art and culture. In fact, there is an underlying belief that visual art, painting, is a physical representation of unconscious processes. This essay will focus on one of these processes, the True and False Self (Winnicott, 1960). “In the healthy individual who has a docile aspect of the self but who exists and who is a creative and spontaneous being, there is at the same time a capacity to use symbols. In other words, health is closely linked here to the individual's capacity to live in an intermediate space between dreams and reality, that which we call cultural life. (Winnicott, 1960, p. 150). The examination of dreams and reality is not only a specialty of the arts, but also one of psychoanalysis, the field from which the concept of the True and False Self arises. Therefore, for the intended purpose... middle of paper ...... ud's painting of his little daughter Bella is a touching demonstration of the true self in its purest form, a baby simply sleeping. This is something rare, both in reality and in art (Winnicott, 2005). This particular painting would be the one containing Freud's youngest model (Haag and Sharp, 2013). To highlight the human nature of the child with all its flaws, the tone and texture of the skin in portrait intelligently brings together all the ideas associated with “lived” skin. It is therefore not surprising to learn that the skin can be a window into the unconscious. “Each man has a secret life which is hidden from himself, that is to say it is dominated by an unconscious representation. » (Ulnik, 2008, p. 232). I believe that Freud's painting of his baby daughter Bella is a demonstration of the baby's true self, while at the same time being an exhibition of Freud's true and false self..