Artwork
Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait is an unspecified painting by the British Romanticist artist John Faed. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Light brown hair falls in loose curls around the face, above a white collar and a dark jacket with patterned fabric draped over one shoulder. John Faed kept the background plain in this 1850 self-portrait, his brushwork soft on skin and hair, the subtle shading giving the face a gentle, rounded depth.
Subject & Meaning
As a self-portrait, the work presents Faed as both creator and subject, with the artist turning the act of representation inward to examine his own likeness.
The painting is a self-portrait by John Faed, depicting the artist himself as a man. As a self-portrait, the work presents Faed as both creator and subject, with the artist turning the act of representation inward to examine his own likeness. The genre classification confirms that the main subject is John Faed and that the image depicts a man engaged in the act of self-portraiture.
Beyond these cataloguing details, the available sources do not specify particular iconographic attributes, symbolic motifs, or interpretive layers associated with the work.
History & Provenance
Attributed to the Scottish artist John Faed, this self-portrait was created in 1850 and is classified as a painting within the portrait genre. The piece resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it depicts the artist himself. While specific details regarding its original commission or the intermediate steps of its ownership chain prior to entering the museum are not provided in the available records, the work's inception is firmly established at 1850.
The available sources do not specify a unique accession number, nor do they list any exhibition history for the work.
Overview
This painting, titled Self-Portrait, was created by the artist John Faed around 1850. The work, a direct depiction of the artist himself, is an oil painting that captures his likeness during the mid-19th century. It is presently part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Technique & Style
The artist employed soft brushwork throughout the portrait, particularly noticeable in the rendering of the skin and hair, which contributes to a smooth, refined surface. Subtle gradations of light and shadow are used to model the contours of the face, imparting a gentle sense of three-dimensionality and volume to the figure.
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