To me it seems simpler to suppose the artist is drawing everyone (including themselves) in the same distorted way, as opposed to imposing themselves into everyo

To me it seems simpler to suppose the artist is drawing everyone (including themselves) in the same distorted way, as opposed to imposing themselves into everyone. Ideally you'd have a photo of the artist for comparison, instead of a self portrait. That'd remove this ambiguity. Admittedly that's a bit challenging for renaissance artists, but it'd be easy for modern artists.