Joseph HIGHMORE
English 1692-1780
Self-portrait
c. 1745-47 
oil on canvas
126.4 x 101.0 cm
Felton Bequest 1947
1760-4

Highmore gave up the study of law for painting. He entered the Academy of Sir Godfrey Kneller in 1714 and shortly after was firmly established as a portrait painter.
Here he portrays himself as a confident artist, an attitude that has a long tradition in self portraiture. Through the dramatic lighting he concentrates our attention on his face and the composition leads the eye to his tools of trade, the loaded palette and brushes.