_-_Self_Portrait_-_YORAG_%2C_85_-_York_Art_Gallery.jpg&width=1200)
Self Portrait
William Etty·1844
Historical Context
Self Portrait at York Art Gallery, painted in 1844, shows the aging artist near the end of his career. Etty's devoted commitment to painting the nude throughout his career made him both celebrated and controversial in Victorian England. Etty, celebrated as Britain's greatest painter of the nude, built up this work with the rich, warm color and fluid oil technique he developed through decades of drawing from life at the Royal Academy's life class.
Technical Analysis
The self-portrait captures the artist's features with honest self-observation. The warm palette and confident handling demonstrate Etty's continued mastery in his later years.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the honest self-observation in this 1844 York Art Gallery self-portrait — the aging artist near the end of a career that made him both celebrated and controversial.
- ◆Look at the warm palette and confident handling demonstrating Etty's continued mastery in his later years.
- ◆Observe Britain's leading painter of the nude looking directly at the viewer with the same warm sensitivity he brought to all his subjects.
_-_Head_of_a_Cardinal_-_FA.72(O)_-_Victoria_and_Albert_Museum.jpg&width=400)
_-_The_Ring_-_997-1886_-_Victoria_and_Albert_Museum.jpg&width=400)
.jpg&width=600)