Andrea Commodi (1560-1638) was born in Florence and in 1578, entered the Accademia del Disegno (Drawing Academy) there. In Florence he painted part of the temporary decorations for the marriage of Grand Duke Ferdinand I and Christina of Lorraine. He first went to Rome in 1583 and returned in 1592, staying until 1622, apart from a three-year stay in Cortona when Pietro da Cortona became one of his pupils. At his house in Rome, he held an 'accademia' which was frequented by promising young artists. Amongst his many commissions in Rome was the decoration of the apse of the cappella Paolina in the Palazzo Quirinale with a fresco depicting the Fall of the Rebel Angels. He abandoned this project, however, perhaps frightened by the inevitable comparison with the Last Judgement by Michelangelo in the Sistine chapel. He was considered an excellent copyist and demand was high for his copies of celebrated works by famous painters.

This miniature is one of the collection of copies of 224 self-portraits by artists in the Uffizi Palace, Florence, that Lord Cowper, the art collector and patron, commissioned Giuseppe Macpherson (1726-1780) to paint. He presented the miniatures to King George III in two batches, in 1773 and 1786. Macpherson followed the original self-portraits quite closely, but copied only the head and shoulders. He inscribed the artists' names on the backs of the miniatures – several differ from those in the modern Uffizi catalogue, notably: Bazzi, Bellini, Campi, Annibale Carracci, Gabbiani, Masaccio, Metsys, Moroni, Pencz, Licinio, Schiavone and Spada. None of the miniatures is signed, apart from Macpherson's own self-portrait, which is inscribed: Giuseppe Macpherson / Autore della serie (Giuseppe Macpherson / Author of the series). Macpherson was born in Florence, the son of Donald Macpherson, a footman in the service of Alexander, 2^nd duke of Gordon. He was a pupil of Pompeo Batoni and painted miniatures and enamel portraits in Italy, France and Germany, finally settling in Florence. A James Macpherson is recorded in London and Paris in 1754 but it is not certain that this is the same person. He was described in 1776 as having a special talent for painting on enamel and as being 'almost the only painter in Europe who possesses this art to perfection'. He had a distinguished client list which included some of the crowned heads and dignitaries of Europe. In 1778, he was invited to add his own self-portrait to the famous painters in the grand duke's collection as it 'would do honour to Florence to enrich the collection with a work which shows that we still have some men of true merit' according to Giuseppe Pelli, director of the Uffizi at the time.