Alfred Stevens

An Artist in his Studio

c.1840–2

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

License this image

In Tate Britain

Walk Through British Art: 1840

Free entry
Artist
Alfred Stevens 1817–1875
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Support: 600 × 476 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Purchased 1908
Reference
N02212

Display caption

This image of a painter in his studio shows one of the new kinds of artistic identity that emerged during the 19th century. The artist is presented as an urbane young gentleman, a distinctly modern figure. His rather foppish persona contrasts with the workshop-like setting. The portrait presents the artist as a man of fashion, rather than as an artisan or labourer, or even as a sober professional, roles that had dominated the self-portrait tradition in the past.

Gallery label, November 2016

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.

Explore

You might like

Left Right