Artwork
Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait is an ink print by the Baroque artist Claude Mellan. It dates from 1635 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:across bottom in plate: CLAVDIVS MELLAN NATIONE / GALLVS PICTOR ET INCISOR / Romae Superiorum pm. 1.6.3.5.; by later hand, across top verso in graphite: Nagler 335 / Fitzwilliam 31 K 2 2+3 / LeBl 233i - before plate reduced / + publed in Suite d'Odieuvre
About this work
Overview
Claude Mellan’s Self‑Portrait is an engraving executed on laid paper in 1635. The work presents a solitary head and shoulders in stark black‑and‑white, the figure rendered with a serious expression, curly hair, a ruffled collar and a dark coat against an unadorned background.
Subject & Meaning
The image is a direct representation of the artist himself, offering a personal visual record rather than an allegorical or narrative scene. The composed demeanor and modest attire suggest a focus on professional identity and self‑presentation typical of early modern portraiture.
Technique & Style
Mellan employed a fine network of etched lines to build tone, rather than using cross‑hatching or stippling. The engraving’s surface is marked by minute, closely spaced incisions that collectively produce subtle gradations of light and shadow, demonstrating the artist’s command of line as a modeling tool.
History & Provenance
The print bears Mellan’s Latin signature at the lower margin, where he identifies himself as both painter and engraver. As a dated work, it provides a clear point of reference for the artist’s output in the mid‑seventeenth century, though further details of its ownership history are not recorded in the available sources.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
