Thomas Gainsborough RA, Self-portrait of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A.

Self-portrait of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A., ca. 1787

Thomas Gainsborough RA (1727 - 1788)

RA Collection: Art

Gainsborough painted this unflinching self-portrait for his friend, the composer and musician Carl Friedrich Abel (1725-87) who died before it could be completed. In 1788, shortly before he too died, Gainsborough requested that it should be the only image of him ever to be engraved.

Not surprisingly, Gainsborough makes no reference in this portrait to his membership of the Royal Academy, with which he had a notoriously difficult relationship. Instead, he is dandily dressed and presents himself as an independent-minded artist-gentleman. The sketchily applied brushwork is evidence of Gainsborough's interest in expression, movement and change rather than formality or convention.

Object details

Title
Self-portrait of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A.
Artist/designer
Date
ca. 1787
Object type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions

773 mm x 645 mm x 22 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
03/1395
Acquisition

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