Portrait, formerly thought to be a self-portrait by Samuel Cooper thumbnail 1
Portrait, formerly thought to be a self-portrait by Samuel Cooper thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case BECK, Shelf 2, Box 15

Portrait, formerly thought to be a self-portrait by Samuel Cooper

Miniature
mid 17th century (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This portrait is predominantly in chalk. Strictly, chalks are natural soft stones or earths of limited colours: white, black and reds. ‘Pastel’ is a coloured crayon that is hand-made by mixing pure powdered pigments with just enough gum or resin to bind them into sticks. ‘Crayon’ was the term used to describe the use of chalks and pastels in the late 17th century. 'Crayon' is a generic term for any manufactured drawing material in stick form.

In the late 17th century pastels were increasingly used to enhance the limited colour range of chalk. Pastel is effectively a method of painting in dry colours. Unlike other methods of painting, no medium or vehicle such as oil or water is used to apply the pigment to the paper. In all other forms of painting the colour as applied is different from the colour when dry. But with pastel the artist knows at any point in the process what effect he is achieving. Pastels probably came to be thought of as paintings rather than drawings, because the colours are applied in masses rather than in lines and are blended. The image is built up using a series of tones added layer by layer with the brightest colours and highlights added last.

When pastel painting developed in the 17th century it was seen as both a sister art and a rival to miniature. The famous miniaturist Samuel Cooper (1609–72) supposedly worked in pastel, and a leading pastellist, Edmund Ashfield (active 1669 to about 1690), probably painted miniatures. This portrait was long believed to be evidence of Cooper's use of pastel. But it is no longer thought either to depict him or to be by him.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePortrait, formerly thought to be a self-portrait by Samuel Cooper (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Pastel
Brief description
Pastel portrait formerly thought to be a Self-Portrait by Samuel Cooper (1609-1672). Possibly by 'Jackson'.; pastel; Cooper, Samuel or Jackson, said to be by
Physical description
Portrait miniature
Dimensions
  • Height: 244mm
  • Width: 194mm
  • Framed dims height: 315mm
  • Framed dims width: 265mm
  • Framed dims depth: 25mm
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce
Summary
This portrait is predominantly in chalk. Strictly, chalks are natural soft stones or earths of limited colours: white, black and reds. ‘Pastel’ is a coloured crayon that is hand-made by mixing pure powdered pigments with just enough gum or resin to bind them into sticks. ‘Crayon’ was the term used to describe the use of chalks and pastels in the late 17th century. 'Crayon' is a generic term for any manufactured drawing material in stick form.

In the late 17th century pastels were increasingly used to enhance the limited colour range of chalk. Pastel is effectively a method of painting in dry colours. Unlike other methods of painting, no medium or vehicle such as oil or water is used to apply the pigment to the paper. In all other forms of painting the colour as applied is different from the colour when dry. But with pastel the artist knows at any point in the process what effect he is achieving. Pastels probably came to be thought of as paintings rather than drawings, because the colours are applied in masses rather than in lines and are blended. The image is built up using a series of tones added layer by layer with the brightest colours and highlights added last.

When pastel painting developed in the 17th century it was seen as both a sister art and a rival to miniature. The famous miniaturist Samuel Cooper (1609–72) supposedly worked in pastel, and a leading pastellist, Edmund Ashfield (active 1669 to about 1690), probably painted miniatures. This portrait was long believed to be evidence of Cooper's use of pastel. But it is no longer thought either to depict him or to be by him.
Bibliographic references
  • Snodin, Michael (ed.), Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill, New Haven : Yale University Press, 2009 Fig.351
  • pp. 168-9 Emma Rutherford and Dr Bendor Grosvenor, Warts and All. The portrait miniatures of Samuel Cooper London: Philip Mould & Company, 2013.
Collection
Accession number
DYCE.91

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Record createdJuly 11, 2003
Record URL
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