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Self-portrait in a wig

Maker

(artist)
1667-1745

Title

Self-portrait in a wig

Date of Production

(circa) 1738

Medium

red chalk on white laid paper

Dimensions

Height: 50.8 cm
Width: 34.2 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.1590

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords






Related Works

J. Richardson the Painter

Label Text

Here Richardson depicts himself dressed formally, in a wig, instead of his usual at-home dress of soft cap and loose coat, and he confronts us with a dignified, even haughty public face. Unlike his other chalk drawings, this one was probably made to be framed and put on display. The choice of white paper rather than the usual cheaper blue suggests that Richardson intended it to be shown more widely than his more unguarded and introspective self-portraits.

Provenance

the artist's collection, L.2184; presumably by descent to his son, Jonathan Richardson, the younger, London (1694-1771); presumably his estate sale, Langford & Son (London), 5 February - 12 February 1772, any number of lots; William Mulready (1786-1863); his estate sale, Christie’s (London), 28-30 April 1864, lot 90 (as 'Head of Sir J. Thornhill' by Hogarth); Taylor, 1912; Achille Chariatte (early 20th century); his estate sale, Sotheby's (London), 30 April - 1 May 1923; purchased there by Puttick & Simpson (London); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, 4 May 1923 (£5.75); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Jonathan Richardson by himself, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 24/06/2015-20/09/2015

Portrait of the Artist as ..., The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/06/2012-22/07/2012

English portraits: from Francis Bacon, the philosopher to Francis Bacon, the painter., National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (organised by British Council), 01/10/1975-01/12/1975 ...More

Old Masters from the Witt Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 01/01/1943-01/05/1943

The age of walnut: loan exhibition in aid of the Royal Northern Hospital at 25 Park Lane, Sir Philip Sassoon, London, 23/02/1932-04/04/1932

catalogue untraced, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1932 ...Less

Literature

Jonathan Richardson by himself, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 2015
cat. no. 18
p. 61

Gibson-Wood, Carol, 'Jonathan Richardson as a Draftsman' in 'Master Drawings', 1994 - 203-229; 32, no. 3
p. 214
fig. 13 on p. 216
see attached PDF

English Portraits, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (organised by British Council), 1975
cat. no. 111
repr. ...More

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 39

Collins Baker, C.H., 'Some Drawings by Jonathan Richardson in the Witt Collection' in 'The Connoisseur', December 1925
p. 201
no. III on p. 197 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: centre: Strasburg lily over "L V G" (16 cm high; no exact match in Heawood or Churchill).

Collector's mark: Recto: right centre edge, stamped in black ink: Jonathan Richardson, the elder (L.2184). Former backing sheet (removed and now missing but recorded in the file), Verso: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

Inscription: Recto: lower right corner, red chalk, the year now completely effaced but according to the file once read: “20 Jan 173…”. Verso: lower centre, brown ink: “no 8 1 feb 81”. Frame (removed and now missing but recorded by Witt on his index card): “Bought at Mulready’s Sale. Said to be a portrait of Sir J. Thornhill by Hogarth”.

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