Self-Portrait 1795

George Romney painted this self-portrait in England in the late eighteenth century. It depicts the artist in a dark coat and white cravat, set against a plain, dark background. Romney was a contemporary of Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, but he never sought membership in the Royal Academy, an institution that promoted certain artists and policed standards of taste. He maintained a successful career outside it. Romney’s self-portrait reflects that independent stance. It is an informal image, perhaps even unfinished, that expresses the artist’s personal vision. The history of art is entwined with the history of institutions, and you can learn a lot about an artist by researching their relationship to those institutions. Examining archival material and exhibition records can also shed light on their place in the art world of their time.