Self-Portrait with Other Figures

Annibale Carracci

Download hi-res image TITLE Self-Portrait with Other Figures
AUTHOR Annibale Carracci
DATE c. 1593
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 60 x 48
INVENTORY 310
ROOM XXXII
Work on display

The painter portrays himself in the mirror with three men who have been variously identified: the eldest may be Antonio, Annibale’s father, while the younger one is thought to be his brother Agostino’s illegitimate son Antonio. This family of artists, with their cousin Ludovico, played a key role in the renewal of painting at the turn of the 16th century. While there is likely to a reference here to the “three ages of man”, it is also the depiction of a glimpse of reality reflected in a mirror.