Parmigianino (1503-1540) Autoritratto entro uno specchio convesso (Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror) c.1523–1524 Oil on panel, diameter 24.4 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna After his arrival in Rome, the young artist gave his self-portrait painted on a curved piece of wood to…
Velázquez, Diego (1599-1660) Luis de Góngora y Argote 1622 Oil on canvas, 50.2 x 40.6 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Velázquez‘s abilities as both painter and observer make him one of the great portraitists of Western painting; this early work is…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Autoritratto con altre figure (Self-Portrait with Other Figures) c.1593 Oil on canvas, 60 × 48 cm Pinacoteca di Brera, Milano The painter portrays himself in the mirror with three men who have been variously identified: the eldest may…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) Self-Portrait 1623 Oil on panel, 85.7 x 62.2 x 0.5 cm Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace, London This painting seems to have been something of a face-saver. In 1621 Rubens supplied Lord Danvers with a Lion Hunt (now lost),…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Testa d’uomo di profilo (Head of a Man in Profile) c.1588–1595 Oil on canvas, 44.8 x 32.1 cm Royal Collection, Windsor Castle This vivid head is precisely the type of study from everyday life practised so passionately by…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Ragazzo che beve (Boy Drinking) 1582–1583 Oil on canvas, 55.8 x 43.7 cm Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Together with his brother Agostino and cousin Lodovico, Annibale Carracci introduced artistic reforms in Italy based on close observation of…
Holbein, Hans the Younger (c.1497-1543) Portrait of a young merchant 1541 Oil on oak, 46.5 × 34.8 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Holbein created a new style of portraiture that is characterized by monumentality paired with extreme painterly precision. The young businessman…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Large Self-Portrait 1652 Oil on canvas, 112 × 81.5 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna The self-portrait is of particular importance in Rembrandt‘s work. In total, the artist created over sixty painted self-portraits, which document not only his personal circumstances but…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) The Honeysuckle Bower c.1609–1610 Oil on canvas, transferred to wood, 178 x 136.5 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich Rubens returned to Antwerp in 1608 after an eight-year stay in Italy. The following year he married Isabella Brant. This…