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Exhibition

Portrait of the Artist

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This first-ever exhibition to focus on images of artists in the Royal Collection includes both self-portraits by world-renowned figures, such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Artemisia Gentileschi, Lucian Freud and David Hockney, and representations of artists by their friends and pupils, including the most reliable surviving likeness of Leonardo da Vinci by his student, Francesco Melzi. 

Through paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and decorative arts from the 15th to the 21st century, the exhibition examines the cult and changing status of the artist, images of the artist’s studio, and the role of monarchs in commissioning, collecting and displaying portraits of artists.

Exhibition highlights

Artemisia Gentileschi (Rome 1593-Naples 1652)

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (La Pittura)

Attributed to Francesco Melzi (1493-1570)

Leonardo da Vinci

Gabriel Metsu (Leiden 1629-Amsterdam 1667)

A Self-Portrait

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