Nicolas RégnierFrench, 1667Self-Portrait with an Easel
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Régnier depicts himself painting the portrait of a man who may be Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani, his primary patron. Sometime between 1617 and 1620, Régnier left his native Flanders for Rome, where he served as Giustiniani’s official painter. This complex double portrait is possibly the canvas recorded as hanging in the marchese’s dressing room in the Palazzo Giustiniani. Here Régnier affirms the elevated status of the artist by presenting himself with the studied poise and gentlemanly attire of a nobleman from the same social circle as his patron. In this portrait of an artist painting a portrait, both subjects gaze at the viewer, who, in turn, has been transformed into both the subject and the beholder of the work.
Harvard Art Museums
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1982.116
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
