''Self-Portrait'' is a small oil-on-panel painting by the Italian artist

Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola ( – 16 November 1625), also known as Sophonisba Angussola or Sophonisba Anguisciola, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Cremona to a relatively poor noble family. She received a well-rounded education that ...

, signed and dated 1554 on the open book held by the artist. The portrait is now in the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

, in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. It was recorded as hanging in Vienna's Belvedere Gallery, already attributed to Anguissola but initially thought to be a portrait of infanta

Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia (; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, which comprised the Low Countries and the north of modern France, with her husband Albert ...

on her betrothal to her cousin

Albert VII, Archduke of Austria Albert VII (; 13 November 1559 – 13 July 1621) was the ruling Archduke of Austria for a few months in 1619 and, jointly with his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1598 and 1621. Prior to this, he had ...

which had therefore ended up in Vienna. Flavio Carioli also came to this conclusion, but in 1885

Adolfo Venturi Adolfo Venturi (3 September 1856, Modena – 10 June 1941, Santa Margherita Ligure) was an Italian art historian. His son, Lionello Venturi, was also an art historian. Biography He received his education in Modena and Florence, and in 1878 ...

cited a letter sent to

Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara Ercole II d'Este (4 April 1508 – 3 October 1559) was Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1534 to 1559. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia. Biography Through his mother, Ercole was a grandson of Pope Alexande ...

in March 1556 by Anguissola's father with two paintings by her, a self-portrait intended for the duke's daughter Lucrezia and a ''Cleopatra'' (after a drawing by Michelangelo, probably a folio now in the

Casa Buonarroti Casa Buonarroti is a museum in Florence, Italy that is situated on property owned by the sculptor Michelangelo that he left to his nephew, Leonardo Buonarroti. The complex of buildings was converted into a museum dedicated to the artist by his gre ...

). Venturi also recorded that in 1603-1604 cardinal

Alessandro d'Este Alessandro d'Este (1568–1624) was a Roman Catholic cardinal. On 3 Apr 1622, he was consecrated bishop by Marco Antonio Gozzadini, Bishop of Recanati with Raffaele Inviziati, Bishop of Cefalonia e Zante, Bishop Emeritus of Cefalonia e Zante, an ...

gave some of his paintings to

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...

. Though no inventory of the paintings given to Rudolf survives, Venturi theorises that this self-portrait was one of them and the theory is accepted by all other art historians.

Description

Simplicity and modesty inspire this little portrait. The round and clear eyes create a dialogue with the viewer of this portrait. The gaze is frank, the chin strong-willed, the hairdo austere, the dress modest. The collar of the light white shirt swells at the neck, in small soft folds. The girl wears no jewels. A note of femininity escapes in the small curl that descends next to the ear. The date is only one year earlier than that of the '' Game of Chess'' by the same painter, but at first sight this portrait seems to belong to a much more immature artistic phase. Some imperfections are also due to an old cleaning, too vigorous, which has removed the glazes. Anguissola's father, in sending the gift to Duke Ercole d'Este, apologized for certain inaccuracies, due to the fact that the portrait had been created looking in the mirror: in fact the hand seems slightly deformed. AA VV, ''Sofonisba Anguissola e le sue sorelle'', Milano, Leonardo arte, 1994, SBN IT\ICCU\VEA\0063954, pp 188–189 (catalogue of an exhibition held in Cremona in 1994, Vienna and Washington in 1995. Sofonisba wears the same dress and has the same hairstyle and expression in her '' Self-Portrait at a Spinet'', kept in Naples.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Self-Portrait Self-portraiture 1554 paintings Portraits by Sofonisba Anguissola Self-portraits Portraits of women Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum