Jonathan Richardson's self-portraits

Self portrait: Foot pain and its emotional effects

I have been making drawings and printed images of people, whereby I listen to them talk to me about their internal perceptions, (interoceptions) of pain, emotion and other inner body feelings. Essentially what I am making are a series of portraits, but images that attempt to reflect the interior world of people, rather than their external appearance. My fellow researcher at the Leeds Arts University, Dawn Woolley is focused on the photographic selfie, so it feels as if we have both interior and exterior awareness covered.

When thinking about a history that might lie behind my approach, I began by looking at expressionist portraiture, but as I dug around the subject, the more I came across the self portraits of Jonathan Richardson. 

Jonathan Richardson, Self-portrait, c. 1735

Richardson made hundreds of drawn self portraits over a period of several years. This type of serial facial analysis looked at from a present perspective, feels very modern. For instance in relation to expressionist portraits, in three of his more prolific years, Vincent van Gogh, drew and painted himself over 40 times. and as photography has become the main form of facial representation, serial portraits, such as Jo Spence's 'Brave' series, have become central to documentary practices.

Jonathan Richardson, Self-portrait, c. 1738

Richardson even went back to earlier work and made drawn copies of his self-portraits from paintings made many years earlier. Most of his self portraits are however drawn from life, using a variety of materials, including pen and ink, graphite on vellum but mainly black and white chalks on blue paper.

Jonathan Richardson Self-portrait as a poet, c. 1732

Jonathan Richardson, Self-portrait, c. 1728

During his early career as a portrait painter he defined his trade in this way, "a portrait is a sort of General History of the Life of the Person it represents, not only to Him who is acquainted with it, but to Many Others, who upon Occasion of seeing it are frequently told, of what is most Material concerning Them, or their General Character at least." However his later self-portraits, which are nearly all dated, are not a ‘General History’ of his life, they are far too particular. They represent the complexity of an inner emotional life, rather than the status or occupation of the sitter.

Jonathan Richardson Self-portrait at the age of thirty, 1735

Jonathan Richardson Self-portrait, 1736

I find his portraits intriguing, especially how with slight differences in the openness of an eye, or width of a face, as well as by changing materials, he can give quite different impressions as to what he is thinking about as he gazes at himself. His images can feel very confident, or fragile, slightly sly or arrogant, quizzical or poetic but they don't feel forced or exaggerated as in Charles le Brun's  work or Messerschmitt portraits.

Charles le Brun: The expressions

Messerschmitt: Character Head

I first came across Jonathan Richardson in the chapter 'Searching for the self' in Susan Owens' excellent book, 'The Story of Drawing'. It is a book well worth a read if you are interested in how drawing supports the various ways that artists think about what it is that they do. We might value painting far more, but it is often an artist's drawings that reveal their thoughts and the roots of their sensibilities; the paintings or sculptures done afterwards often covering up the thinking surrounding an idea's gestation.

Richardson's portraits reminded me that you don't need to go 'over the top' when looking for expression and that it is often in small details that a telling communication is made. He also made his self portraits as he neared the end of his career, something I am also doing. It being a time to continue working if you still have the capability but the pressure to earn money or get out there to make your name is less and you can therefore reflect more on what you have done and how perhaps you can do it in a more interesting or personal way. 

See also:

What is a portrait?

Self portrait drawings

The portrait as witness and control 

The Lamed Vavniks

Portraits and time

Drawing it all together