Self-Portrait
Gros trained with Jacques Louis David, leader of the most prominent atelier in Paris during a tumultuous period marked by revolution and empire. Gros gained renown by propagandizing France’s battlefield triumphs but was also a gifted portraitist. This self-portrait, executed when he was around twenty, is remarkable for its immediacy, the result of fluid brushwork betraying no signs of hesitation or correction. At The Met it joins Gros’s portrait of his compatriot and fellow David pupil, François Gérard, executed about the same time.
Son of a miniaturist, Gros showed promise as a portraitist as early as 1785, when he entered the Parisian studio of history painter Jacques Louis David. There, the pedagogical exercise of making head studies known as têtes d’expression (expressive heads) developed into the practice of making studies of heads from life for which pupils posed for one another. That practice is reflected in this assured self-portrait, executed when Gros was perhaps twenty, for which he employed fluid brushwork betraying no signs of hesitation or correction. On the artist’s wishes, his widow gave a larger version to the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse.
Son of a miniaturist, Gros showed promise as a portraitist as early as 1785, when he entered the Parisian studio of history painter Jacques Louis David. There, the pedagogical exercise of making head studies known as têtes d’expression (expressive heads) developed into the practice of making studies of heads from life for which pupils posed for one another. That practice is reflected in this assured self-portrait, executed when Gros was perhaps twenty, for which he employed fluid brushwork betraying no signs of hesitation or correction. On the artist’s wishes, his widow gave a larger version to the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse.
Artwork Details
- Title: Self-Portrait
- Artist: baron Antoine Jean Gros (French, Paris 1771–1835 Meudon)
- Date: ca. 1790
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 10 3/4 × 8 5/8 in. (27.3 × 21.9 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Karen B. Cohen, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.592.2
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
baron Antoine Jean Gros
ca.1810
baron Antoine Jean Gros
ca. 1793–1800
baron Antoine Jean Gros
1817
baron Antoine Jean Gros
baron Antoine Jean Gros
ca. 1793–1800
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.