# Self-Portrait

- By: Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836-1904)
- Date: 1857
- Medium: Black chalk, with charcoal and stumping, on blue laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper, perimeter mounted to gray board
- Classification: Drawing and Watercolor
- Dimensions: Primary support: 36.5 × 31.2 cm (14 3/8 × 12 5/16 in.); Secondary support: 45.5 × 43 cm (17 15/16 × 16 15/16 in.); Tertiary support: 50.3 × 43 cm (19 13/16 × 16 15/16 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Regenstein Acquisition Fund
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/223042)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/060b1d15-b44a-90ea-3813-39f2cba3d10a/full/843,/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Among Fantin-Latour’s portraits, the most penetrating are those he made of himself. This is an early attempt, created when he was just 21 years old, and may reflect the influence of Edgar Degas, whom he had met just two years previously. As with many young artists, the most available model could be found in the mirror, fostering many such brooding images bursting with potential.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0