In this self-portrait, drawn around 12 years before her death, Rosalba Carriera conveys her status, success and skill through the accomplished depiction of the luxurious materials she wears, including lace and fur.

Much of Carriera’s success can be attributed to the astute strategies she employed to fashion her own image and reputation. The miniature shown here, titled L’Innocenza (‘Innocence’), is another self-portrait and a copy of her diploma piece for the Accademia San Luca in Rome, which would have been assessed by male academicians. The thirty-two-year-old artist appears to be presenting herself here as modest and – significantly – unthreatening. Though she primarily worked in pastels, a medium viewed as academically less important than oils, at her death Carriera had cultivated an international clientèle and European fame as a portraitist, and left an estate that significantly outweighed those of her male Venetian peers.