Self-portrait
Ca. 1550. Oil.Room 052C
This work is fundamental for a knowledge of the origins of portraiture in Spain and the role of Pedro Campaña - a Brussels-born artist who worked in Seville - in its emergence. It is also a self-portrait, a type of work rarely produced in sixteenth-century Spain. The exquisite, fine brushstrokes and detailed drawing reveal the exceptional quality of Campaña’s work and his Flemish roots. Painters often saw their self-portraits as a vehicle for displaying their pride and personal ambitions. These appear to have been some of the concerns that prompted Pieter Kempeneer to portray himself with the determined attitude and elegant poise suited to a successful practitioner of a liberal art. The carefully reproduced facial features, and in particular the intense gaze, together with the prominence of the red hair and beard and the use of strong chiaroscuro to mark the volumes and outlines denote not only an exquisite command of technique with its roots in Flemish art, but also a desire to produce a very personal image.
