Self-Portrait

1734

Medium

Pastel, on blue paper (now discolored), mounted on canvas

Dimensions

98.1 × 80 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-212828

Wearing the official academy costume--a brown velvet waistcoat, lace shirt, and long powdered wig--the French artist Charles-Antoine Coypel gracefully turns towards the viewer. When he made this half-length self-portrait, Coypel was forty years old and already a full professor at the Académie Royale in Paris. With an open-handed gesture, Coypel presents both himself and his work to the viewer. He stands against a portfolio containing colored paper; underneath, a silver holder contains sharpened pieces of chalk, the medium essential to his profession. Written on the portfolio is a dedication: "Charles Coypel has painted himself for Philippe Coypel, his brother and his best friend, 1734." Coypel's younger brother was a *valet de chambre* to King Louis XV, so the picture served also as a tool for self-promotion. Displayed in the Philippe's house, the self-portrait would have boldly presented the confident image of Charles to the powerful members of the king's inner circle. A brilliant portraitist, Coypel excelled in the medium of pastel. He first drew a detailed underdrawing lightly in pencil, then made crisp outlines using a sharpened pastel crayon. The soft, harmonious coloring c…