The self-portrait as self-promotion
Self-Portrait (after Reynolds) ©
Any artist who earns a living through their art needs to find patrons or customers. From the Renaissance onwards, most of those customers have been conscious of buying not just the work of art as an object in itself, but also something of the 'aura' of the artist who created it. Artists have therefore promoted themselves as well as their works, and the self-portrait has been an important tool in this marketing campaign – whether painted for a patron or for display, or printed for mass circulation.
Artists have portrayed themselves as honest craftsmen, as inspired geniuses, as sophisticated courtiers, as pillars of society and as heirs to a long tradition. Almost every self-portrait in this exhibition is a carefully honed image, intended to appeal to a specific audience.
After Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723)
John Smith with his Print of Sir Godfrey Kneller
William Hogarth (1697-1764)
A self-portrait with a pug
Thomas Frye (c.1710-62)
A self-portrait
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92)
A self-portrait
Henry Bone (1755-1834)
A self-portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds
Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835) after Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92)
A self-portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds
Caroline Kirkley (b. c.1773) after Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92)
A self-portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds
Rosalba Giovanna Carriera (Venice 1675-Venice 1757)
A self-portrait
Valentine Green (1739–1813) after Maria Cosway (c.1759/60–1838)
A self-portrait of Maria Cosway
Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606-Amsterdam 1669)
Self-Portrait in a Flat Cap
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577 - Antwerp 1640)
Portrait of the Artist
Daniel Mytens (c. 1590-1647)
A self-portrait
Isaac Oliver (c. 1565-1617)
A self-portrait
Peter Oliver (1589-1647)
A self-portrait
Samuel Cooper (1609-72)
A self-portrait
Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702-89)
Portrait of the Artist
Mary Knowles (1733-1807)
Needlework picture
Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, 1503–1540)
A self-portrait
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–1677) after Jan Meyssens (1612–1670)
A portrait of Wenceslaus Hollar holding an etched plate
Thomas Major (1720-1799)
A self-portrait
Fedor Iwanowitsch (1765-1832)
A self-portrait
William Strang (1859-1921)
A self-portrait
Henry Rayner (1902–1957)
