Self-Portrait

Art Historical Context

Maurice Quentin de La Tour, one of the foremost pastel portraitists of 18th-century France, created this intimate self-portrait around 1737 during the height of the Rococo period. Working in Paris amid the Enlightenment’s emphasis on individual character and expression, La Tour specialized in capturing the likenesses of intellectuals, aristocrats, and fellow artists with remarkable immediacy. His choice of pastel—a medium then gaining popularity for its luminous color and velvety texture—allowed him to achieve subtle gradations of tone and a sense of living presence that rivaled oil painting w...