Archibald Skirving
Archibald Skirving, 1749 - 1819, Artist. (Self-portrait)
About this artwork
This is one of a number of life-size head and shoulder portraits Skirving made while living in Rome. Skirving travelled to Italy in 1786 and worked in Rome for seven years. According to another Scottish visitor, Skirving took 'so much time and bestows so much labour in finishing his pieces that he can never do much' - the meticulous finish of his pastel is certainly suggestive of painstaking effort.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Archibald Skirving (1749 - 1819) Scottish
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title:Archibald Skirving, 1749 - 1819, Artist. (Self-portrait)
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date created:About 1790
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materials:Watercolour on ivory
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measurements:7.30 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Mrs Nancy Butcher 1999
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accession number:PG 3148
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
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Archibald Skirving
Archibald Skirving
Skirving was born near Haddington, East Lothian. After being educated locally, he began work as a junior clerk at the Customs Office in Edinburgh. It is thought that Skirving also studied at the Trustees' Academy in the city at the same time, while painting miniatures at night. By the end of 1777...