Sir Peter Lely (1618-80)
Mary Beale (1633-99)
Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (1646-1723)
William Hogarth (1697-1764)
Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807)
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92)
George Romney (1734-1802)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82)
Gwen John (1876-1939)
Isaac Rosenberg (1890-1918)
Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970)
Graham Sutherland (1903-80)

Questions to provoke thoughts

Self-portrait slide notes

These notes are designed to give background information on works reproduced in slide format.

Self-advertisement
The self-portrait is the artist's most intimate personal legacy, and most public form of self-advertisement. Self-portraits are often specific in intention, recording particular moments in an artist's personal or professional life. We find certain works clearly state the artist's occupation by the inclusion of brushes, palettes,
portfolios, pencils, easels; whilst others indicate success and status by concentrating on fashionable clothing, smart interiors and diverse proofs of wealth. The very nature of the drawing or painting, the actual technique of applying ink, pencil, chalk or charcoal to paper, or paint to canvas - the distinguishable mark-making - can convey information about the character and type of artist represented. Artists define their aesthetic perceptions by every decision made in the art-work produced. Each line, colour, shape and the consequent relationships between them become part of the expressive self and define a creative identity. 'I am my style', said Paul Klee.

Self-image
In a self-portrait the artist is his or her own flexible and free model; always available, day or night, ready to take on any number of disguises, gestures or expressions, without needing to explain these to a sitter, or to analyse the reasons for themselves. Self-portraits are rarely commissioned works, and thus they have their own autonomy and sense of self-investigation, unrestricted by outside constraints.

Self-knowledge
The self-portrait records physical appearance, and some artists examine how they age by repeatedly recording themselves. Sometimes mood, feelings, character and emotions invade the picture and these works have an independent spirit of their own. Because this type of work combines shrewdly-observed physical characteristics with artistic bravura, a naked quality of self-knowledge emerges.

Questions
The following sorts of questions can be asked whilst viewing the slides to stimulate discussion about the images. As you consider each work, it is important to remember that you are looking at a photographic reproduction of an original artwork. The picture comes to you by means of coloured light. The scale will generally be different and neither texture nor colour will be totally accurate:

-Why do you think that artists make self-portraits?
-Do you think a self-portrait is easy to sell?
-Who would buy an artist's self-portrait, and why?
-What do you think a self-portrait can show? (-What the artist looks
like ? -How they feel? -What type of artwork they produce?)
-What does the portrait reveal about the period in which the artist
lived?
Some people think that the self-portrait is the most interesting kind of portrait. Why do you think this is the case and, do you disagree?
As you consider each work, think of these questions-
-What is it made of? How old is the work?
-How long do you think it took the artist to make?
-What scale is it? (dimensions provided on accompanying lists)
-How much of the artist can we see?
-What (if anything) is in the work in addition to the portrait?
-Have any particular props or symbols been used in order to assist
the viewer?
-What type of clothing is he or she wearing?

-How is the figure lit?
-What type of colours has the artist used?
-Is the artist posing in any particular way? Is he or she trying to tell
us anything through the pose or gesture?
-Do you think that an artist would make more than one self-portrait?
-Do you think that the self-portrait is like an advertisement for the
type of work that an artist can make?

Lely's head and hands glow dimly like mysterious light bulbs within this sombre canvas. His somewhat supercilious look suggests a haughty confidence and this impression is reinforced by the contraposto position and bravura painting of the white cuff. His left hand grasps a female statuette; symbolic of the aesthetic world and his power over it (and women?). Naturally flowing locks frame a handsome face. This rather arrogant yet beautiful portrait has an almost stately quality. It proclaims 'here is the King's painter, Van Dyck's proud heir.'
Lely was born in Germany of Dutch parents, studied in Haarlem under de Grebber, becoming a member of the Haarlem Guild in 1637. He was in London by 1647 (by this date he had painted Charles I and the Duke of York). He became Principal painter to Charles II in 1661, and maintained a large studio (on Van Dyck lines) where portraits of an International Baroque Style were produced at a tremendous rate. He is known for the series of beauties at Hampton Court, and the splendid Admirals at the Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Works wholly painted by him (such as this self-portrait) attain a level of beauty akin to Van Dyck. Others, where he has only been responsible for certain elements (head and hands) reveal the problems inherent in the studio system.

Mary Beale was one of the very few women artists working in England in the seventeenth century. She presents herself here as artist and mother. Behind her on the wall is her palette, only barely distinguishable in the background gloom. In her right hand she holds an unfinished painting of her two sons, Bartholomew and Charles; we can see clearly the nails which secure the edges of the canvas onto the small stretcher. Beale is dressed in the flowing fashion of the day, and although the rendering of the drapes is somewhat awkward, her handling of the faces is solid and convincing.
Born Mary Cradock in Suffolk, she was the daughter of a clergyman. Little is known of her artistic training. She was married in 1652 to Charles Beale, an artist's colourman (colourmen supplied prepared pigments and canvases, and made brushes and other
items required by artists). They moved to London c.1655 and were befriended by Sir Peter Lely. It is said that Lely passed on to her portrait work that he didn't want. The stylistic influence of Lely on Beale is clearly visible, on his death in 1680, fashions in portraiture began to change and Mary's style became outmoded.

This is a typical baroque portrait. It is related to the famous group of portraits painted by Kneller depicting Whig supporters who met regularly at Christopher Cat's Tavern and ate meat pies known as 'Kit-cats', but it is smaller than the rest (all the others measure 36 x 28 inches, the original pre-fabricated 'Kit-cat' canvas measurements).

This image was engraved at the same time as the others in 1735 and so became part of the group. Kneller is richly dressed with a full wig, a sword, which was probably presented to him by King William in 1692, and a gold chain, also given by the King in 1699. The medal bears the King's head and was valued at £300. In the background we see Kneller's house, Whitton Hall, Twickenham, built in 1709-11.
Born in Lübeck, Kneller trained in Amsterdam under Rembrandt's pupil Ferdinand Bol. He arrived in England in 1674 after visiting Italy. He became Principal Painter to the King in 1691 and was made a Baronet in 1715, the first painter in England to be so honoured. He was a prolific, often mechanical painter, who reworked Lely's style and poses. His best works were painted 'alla prima'; painting all of the surface of the canvas in one sitting and in one 'layer'. This method requires a great deal of skill and confidence and produces lively and vigorous work. Kneller employed numerous assistants to help him and this accounts for the variable quality of the work he produced. He was known to be a conceited man and perhaps this shows in his self-portrait.

Hogarth was born in London, and originally trained as a silversmith. He then worked as an engraver prior to taking up painting in the late 1720s. He executed a series of 'modern moral subjects', firstly in paint and subsequently engraved for wider public distribution and sale. Subjects included; 'The Harlot's Progress', 'The Rake's Progress' and 'Marriage à la Mode'. His works were popular and they were often pirated. This led him to lobbying for the passing of the Copyright Act, made law in 1735, which protected artists' work from unlawful reproduction. Fiercely patriotic, he championed British art against the French and Italian masters. He set up the first public exhibition space in the country at the Foundling Hospital and encouraged student painters at the St Martin's Lane Academy. The X-ray of this work shows original underpainting of his dog, Trump, cocking his leg and relieving himself over Old Master drawings.

In this self-portrait Angelica Kauffman points to herself whilst looking at us. She balances her drawing book under her right hand which is poised ready to make a mark with her pastel. The pastel is held firmly in a 'porte-crayon' - a pastel holder which gave the artist using pastels flexibility of movement and making gestured marks easier to execute through added length. At this time pastels would have been quite stumpy and frail as they were hand-made from pure pigment and gum arabic. The painting is bathed in a warm, soft light. Her skin appears translucent and her clothing softly echoes the folds and curls of her tumbling hair. Distinctly feminine and seductive, the painting reinforces the determination of the woman artist rather than detracting from it, in the way that she presents herself with the tools of her trade.
Born in Switzerland, Kauffman chose to be a visual artist rather than a musician. She went to Rome in 1763, where she met and painted Winckelmann in 1764; this portrait helped to make her name. Between 1766-81 she was in London, in 1768, she became friends
(some say intimate) with Joshua Reynolds who, like her, was a founder member of the Royal Academy . Her decorative history pieces were widely engraved and used in the manufacture of objets d'art.

This self-portrait was reduced in size in the early nineteenth century; it is estimated that approximately 17 cm were cut off the top and 7 cm off the bottom of the painting. The resulting oblong is a very unusual shape for a half-length portrait and the crowded composition is untypical of Reynolds, who preferred to leave more space around his subject. Always a stylish dresser, we see him here in a fashionable, informal frock coat, a blue silk waistcoat worn à la mode open to mid-chest and his own loosely curled hair rather than a formal wig. He holds a mahl stick and a shovel palette; behind him stands a canvas, at the ready.
Reynolds was born in Devon to an educated family; his father was headmaster of Plympton Grammar School. Later in life he became close friends with Dr Johnson, Goldsmith, Garrick and Burke. He left England to visit Italy in 1749 where he was able to study antique and Renaissance works; here he discovered the 'Grand Style'. When the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, he became President and subsequently delivered fifteen 'Discourses' (lectures). Together with Gainsborough and Hogarth, he is regarded as one of the most famous British artists of the eighteenth century. He is also renowned for his poor technical procedures; few of his works survive in good condition.

The problem and the delight of this portrait lie in its unfinished state. Romney's crossed arms are unconvincing, their flatness deny the magic of the fully worked face and our eyes tend to 'hop' from this aspect of the self-portrait to the other. Why, if the face is so convincingly portrayed, did he not try to complete the rest of the painting to the same high standard? The portrait's unfinished state does however, give us an insight into the artist's method; a rough outline forms the basis of this simple, self-contained, and somewhat confrontational portrait. Yet it is his expression, the serious, calculating way in which he fixes his eye on us, which commands our attention. This, combined with the low-key, sombre palette and the brief indication of light glancing off his forehead, provide us with a deeply felt study of Romney's physical and psychological state.
Romney was born in Lancashire and worked in the North until 1762 when he moved to London. In 1773 he left London, where Reynolds was at the height of his power, and moved to Italy. (Gainsborough moved to London in 1774.) He was famous for painting numerous portraits of Emma Hamilton, often transforming her into historical or mythological characters.

Fey and romantic, Rossetti's self-portrait is a brief likeness of a youthful Pre-Raphaelite. The brown tinted paper provides a warm mid-tone. The blacks are used to delineate features, free-falling shoulder length hair and elegant, foppish bow-tie, whilst the bright highlights made in chalk lift the forehead, make the nose more three-dimensional and giving the shirt 'body'. The drawing has all the delicacy of a nineteen-year-old artist's candid self-view.
Rossetti was the son of an Italian political refugee in London. He trained with Cotman, Ford Madox Brown and Holman Hunt, and was a founder-member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He met Elizabeth Siddal in 1852, they married in 1860, and two years later she died from an overdose of laudanum. He produced his best work during the time they knew each other and went into decline after her death. Many of his subjects were drawn from Dante and the medieval period, and he also wrote verse inspired by these themes.

Gwen John (sister to Augustus, who said of her that her reputation would outlive his) was born in Pembrokeshire, but lived most of her adult life in seclusion and comparative poverty near Paris where she painted portraits, sparse interiors, and still lifes. The influence of Vuillard is evident in her later works. She studied under Tonks at the Slade between 1895-8 before a brief spell with Whistler at his Paris Academy - he declared that she had a 'fine sense of tone'. In France she knew Rilke and was Rodin's lover. Her work was exhibited at the New English Art Club (1900-1910); the Carfax Gallery (1903), the Armory Show (1913) and both the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Tuileries (1919-25) .
Much less famous than her brother in her lifetime, she has since become recognised as perhaps a superior artist, certainly someone with a very personal and refined vision. This self-assured self-portrait shows the twenty-four-year-old artist in a confident, confrontational pose. With hands on hips, she looks straight out at us from th canvas. The colours and tonal values are subtle, as in her other work and the oil paint is gently dabbed onto the canvas with delicate, obsessive precision. The folds and pleats of her neck bow and pale orange blouse are carefully rendered. The shape of the splayed hand echoes the 'puff' of the form of her gigot sleeve.
This sombre, serious work has a companion three-quarter length which is in the Tate Gallery collection. Of the two this seems more dictatorial, but both testify to a very personal, distinctive quality. Here the figure boldly fills out the entire canvas so that little bare space remains.

Isaac Rosenberg was born in Bristol, but at the age of seven his family moved to Stepney, London. Like Mark Gertler, whom he met at the Whitechapel Library, he won a Jewish scholarship to the Slade where he studied between 1911-13. His fellow students included David Bomberg and Stanley Spencer. Ezra Pound encouraged him to write poetry and he published two anthologies 'Night and Day' (1912), and 'Youth' (1915). He joined the army in 1915, serving on the Western Front where he was killed in action near Arras in April 1918. Two well-known poems stem from this period; 'Break of Day in the Trenches' and 'Louse Hunting'.
This evocative self-portrait is a frank rendering of the artist, his piercing blue eyes stare out at us from the shadows created by his hat. The cynical, somewhat imperious look, is at odds with the warmth of the colours that he uses in this small painted panel. As
in the Gwen John self-portrait, he fills out the picture space, his head hemmed in by the tight scale. There is also a vague similarity in the pattern of the brushstrokes, but Rosenberg's are broader and consistently vertical, shuddering almost shimmering over the surface.

This flamboyant painting makes a very public statement about the woman artist at work, analysing the female form in paint. The dynamics of the composition are complex; horizontals work off verticals in a series of regular juxtapositions. These visual tactics underline the relationship between artist and model, model and canvas, canvas and artist. The whole is united in violent reds and oragnes.
Knight painted this whilst living in an artists' community in Newlyn, Cornwall. The model was her friend and neighbour Ella Napper, and the idea behind the work was that it should be devoted to the 'simple truth of nature'. Knight was born in Long Eaton, Derbyshire and studied at Nottingham School of Art. Aged fifty-nine she became the first female Royal Academician since Angelica Kauffman and Mary Moser in the eighteenth century. Her favourite subjects were gypsies and circus performers. She also made studies of the Diaghilev Ballet and was assigned to make a pictorial record of the Nuremberg War Trials. In 1965, a retrospective exhibition of her work was held in the Diploma Gallery at the Royal Academy. She was the first woman to be so honoured.

Graham Sutherland's self-portrait has that freshness of colour which we associate with his early abstract landscape work. Here the green surrounds him as symbolic backdrop rather than as real landscape. With a canny look, he appears almost to be chuckling at us as we peek at him looking out at us over his sketch pad. He is in the act of drawing himself; his pad resting on his knees propped against the edge of the mirror. The paintwork is patchy and there is a strong graphic quality to the rendering of the face; wrinkles are clearly marked in black and this part of the painting is the most finished. The area taken up by the sitter is balanced almost equally by the green space. Sutherland places himself hunched in the right hand corner and this, together with his hands clasping the white pad, give the painting its claustrophobic effect.
Born in London, he specialised in etching at the Goldsmiths' School of Art (1921-6) but turned to landscape painting in the 1930s after visiting Pembrokeshire. In 1949 he painted Somerset Maugham (Tate Gallery) and this work established his portrait painting reputation. This self-portrait was painted for an exhibition of Sutherland's work held at the National Portrait Gallery in 1977, and it was presented by his widow to the Gallery in 1980 .

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All images and text are subject to copyright protection. 20 November 2008