- Museum number
- A102
- Object
- Framed oil painting: Self Portrait by Thomas Barker (1769-1847), oil on canvas, c.1794
- Description
- Self-portrait. In this half-length picture, the artist stands with his back to the viewer, but with his head turned to face us, eyes slightly to the left. His right arm is also presented to the viewer, being on his hip, and towards the picture plane, displaying a paintbrush in his right hand. With his left hand he holds a palette, mahl-stick and more brushes. His hair is long, in 18th Century style, and he wears costume of the school of Van Dyck. He stands before an easel on the left hand side of the picture, on which rests a view of the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli. The background is olive. Completed after the Barkers return from Italy in 1793.
- Materials
- Oil
- Inscription
- Holburne's original label: "This fine Portrait of the late Thomas Barker was painted by himself in the year 1793 and was sold amongst a collection of his pictures at Lansdowne Grove in January 1861 by Sir W. S. Cockburn Bart. It was purchased by myself. Bath. April 8th. 1861. T.W. Holburne"
- On display?
- Yes
Further description
- Simple name
- Painting
- Subject
- Self-portrait
- Dimensions
- framed: 9.0000cm (d) x 111.0000cm (h) x 95.8000cm (w)
regular: 64.6cm (h) x 78.7cm (w)
Self Portrait
Thomas Barker (1769-1847)
Oil on canvas, about 1794
Thomas Barker’s self portrait depicts him as a confident young artist. On his easel, a view of the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli recalls his recent travels around Rome. The pose with one hand on the hip, fashionably long hair and rich ochre coat are borrowed from the seventeenth-century master Van Dyck.
A102
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