Portrait of the Artist 1800

Editor: This is John Vanderlyn's self-portrait from 1800, rendered in oil paint, and it's currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I'm struck by the apparent simplicity, the muted colors and almost melancholic tone. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Well, let’s consider what Vanderlyn is *doing* here. Oil paint itself, commercially produced pigments readily available by this point, allows him to create this kind of nuanced depiction. Think about the economic realities for an artist at the turn of the 19th century. Was he wealthy, beholden to patronage, or attempting to establish himself in a market economy? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't thought about the cost and accessibility of oil paints. So the very choice of this medium signifies something? Curator: Precisely. And beyond the medium, examine the sitter’s garments, the cravat, and coat. They suggest a certain bourgeois status, but also perhaps an *aspirational* status. Is Vanderlyn signaling his professional seriousness, attempting to create an image – literally and figuratively – for a particular social class? Or simply, presenting himself in the clothes available? Editor: So it's less about Vanderlyn’s personal emotion and more about how he’s using materials and social signifiers to construct an identity? Curator: Exactly. We must acknowledge that "self-expression," the kind Romantic idea, becomes the story *later*. We project that lens onto work like this. At the time, what practical realities governed production? Where did he obtain his pigments, canvases, garments? This allows us to really begin a thorough study of the image itself. Editor: I see. So, by looking at the material and economic conditions surrounding the painting, we can unpack its intended meaning beyond just a face on a canvas. Curator: Yes. The act of painting is work; and that work reveals its history through its materials and choices. Editor: That’s a really helpful way to think about art from this period. I'll never look at a portrait the same way.