El autorretrato me mira como si me conociera.

In Spanish, nouns often take an article when they are the subject of a sentence. So el autorretrato sounds natural as the self-portrait.

A few notes:

• Autorretrato is a masculine singular noun, so it takes el.
• Leaving out the article would usually sound incomplete here unless it were a title, label, or very special style choice.

So El autorretrato me mira... is the normal way to say it.

Not usually. Autorretrato means self-portrait, especially in an artistic sense: a painting, drawing, photo, or other representation an artist makes of themselves.

Compared with selfie:

• autorretrato = more artistic, formal, or literary
• selfie = everyday casual photo

So this sentence sounds more poetic or artistic than something about a selfie.

Me is the object pronoun meaning me. It tells you who is being looked at.

So:

• me mira = it looks at me

Spanish usually uses object pronouns before the conjugated verb:

• me mira
• te mira
• lo mira
• nos mira

Here, the self-portrait is doing the action, and me is receiving it.

It is a direct object here.

That is because mirar normally takes a direct object:

• mirar algo = to look at something
• mirar a alguien = to look at someone

Examples:

• Miro la pintura.
• Miro al niño.
• Me mira.

Even though English often uses look at, Spanish uses mirar more directly. So me is not indirect here.

Because Spanish uses object pronouns like me, te, lo, la, nos instead of a mí in normal object position.

So:

• Correct: me mira
• Not natural here: mira a mí

You can use a mí for emphasis, but usually together with the pronoun:

• Me mira a mí.

That would mean something like:

• It’s looking at me
• It’s looking at me, specifically

So the basic version is simply me mira.

Como si is a fixed expression meaning as if.

It introduces something imagined, unreal, or contrary to what the speaker is fully asserting as true.

So in this sentence, the structure is:

• me mira = the real action being described
• como si me conociera = the comparison or impression: as if it knew me

This expression is very common:

• Habla como si fuera experto.
• Me trata como si no me conociera.
• Sonríe como si tuviera un secreto.

Because after como si, Spanish normally uses the imperfect subjunctive.

So:

• como si me conoce ❌
• como si me conociera ✅

This is one of the most important patterns to memorize:

• como si + imperfect subjunctive
• como si + pluperfect subjunctive for past unreal situations

Examples:

• Me habla como si me conociera.
• Actúa como si fuera el dueño.
• Me miró como si me hubiera visto antes.

So conociera is there because como si strongly calls for the subjunctive.

Great question. Here, imperfect subjunctive does not mean the action is in the past.

After como si, the imperfect subjunctive usually expresses something hypothetical, unreal, or only apparently true, often connected to the present.

So in:

• El autorretrato me mira como si me conociera

the idea is not that the portrait used to know me in the past. The idea is:

• it looks at me as if it knew me / as though it knew me

In English, as if it knew me also uses a past-looking form, but the meaning is about a present impression, not real past time. Spanish works similarly here.

The subject is still el autorretrato.

Spanish often leaves the subject unstated when it is clear from context. So the full underlying idea is:

• El autorretrato me mira como si él me conociera.

Here:

• él = the self-portrait
• me = me

So conociera means it knew me, with the self-portrait as the one supposedly doing the knowing.

Yes. Conociera and conociese are both valid imperfect subjunctive forms.

So both are correct:

• como si me conociera
• como si me conociese

In most of Latin America, the -ra form is much more common in everyday speech:

• conociera
• fuera
• tuviera

The -se form is correct too, but it often sounds more literary, formal, or less common depending on the region.

Because mirar suggests looking at someone, often with intention or direction, while ver is more like to see.

Compare:

• me mira = it looks at me
• me ve = it sees me

In this sentence, mirar is more vivid and expressive. It makes the self-portrait seem active, almost alive. That fits the poetic tone very well.

Yes. A self-portrait cannot literally look at or know someone, so the sentence gives it human-like qualities.

That personification is strengthened by:

• me mira = it looks at me
• como si me conociera = as if it knew me

So the effect is artistic and slightly eerie or intimate: the painting seems to have awareness.

Yes. You could say:

• El autorretrato me mira como si él me conociera.

That makes the subject explicit. But in normal Spanish, the pronoun él is unnecessary because the subject is already clear from context.

Spanish usually prefers the shorter version unless you want:

• emphasis
• contrast
• clarity after possible ambiguity

So the original sentence sounds more natural and elegant.

Because si here is the conjunction meaning if, and that form has no accent.

Compare:

• si = if
• sí = yes / himself / herself / itself in some structures

In como si me conociera, it must be si without an accent because it is part of the fixed expression como si = as if.