This is a mezzotint engraving after a painted self-portrait by Raeburn. Raeburn submitted the painting itself to the Royal Academy in London as his diploma piece, following his election as Academician in 1815. It was declined, as self-portraits were inadmissible, and the painting ‘Boy with a Rabbit’ was presented instead. In wishing to submit this as a diploma piece, Raeburn must have felt his self-portrait embodied his achievements as an artist. He has endowed himself with romantic intensity and a high seriousness befitting his status as Scotland’s foremost portrait painter.