Student Artwork Guide
Copyright This work is in the public domain. Richard Rothwell died in 1868; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1938.
In context
Self Portrait — Richard Rothwell
The original measures 61 × 51 cm (height × width), drawn here beside an adult of average height.
Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 68 at death.
Shaded: the lifetime of Richard Rothwell (1800–1868) every dated painting, decade by decade
First works: up to 1829 Main working years: 1829–1842 Late works: from 1842
Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them
This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?
Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.
More works to set beside this one: originaluniqueart.com/en/art/similar/richard-rothwell-self-portrait-AQV3F9-en/
Measured from the image
Main colour
Phthalo Green #1b180e
Catalogued palette
These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour
The ten leading countries
Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.
Together these works take 100.0% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 31 works by this artist, of which 8 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 8 of them, with 9.1% of that attention (100 visits). The same counts, month by month
Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.
Artist and museum
In the grand tapestry of nineteenth-century art, few threads are as intricately woven with both classical elegance and Romantic emotion as those left by Richard Rothwell. Born in Dublin on November 20, 1800, Rothwell emerged from a background of relative comfort to become a painter whose brush captured not just the likeness of his subjects, but their very essence. His journey was one of constant movement and profound artistic evolution, stretching from the academic halls of Ireland to the vibrant studios of London and the sun-drenched landscapes of Italy. As an artist working during the height of the Romantic era, Rothwell possessed a rare sensitivity to the human form, allowing him to navigate the delicate balance between meticulous realism and the evocative power of light and shadow.
The foundations of his mastery were laid in the Dublin Society's school of art, where he studied with rigorous discipline from 1814 until 1820. It was here that his burgeoning talent first earned formal recognition, marked by the achievement of a silver medal—a precursor to the international acclaim that would follow. His early years were defined by this disciplined training, yet his spirit was always drawn toward larger horizons. By 1829, Rothwell had migrated to London, where he entered the studio of the legendary Sir Thomas Lawrence. This period served as a transformative apprenticeship; under Lawrence’s mentorship, Rothwell absorbed the sophisticated techniques of high-society portraiture, learning how to imbue a canvas with dignity, status, and a certain luminous grace that would become hallmarks of his own style.
The death of Sir Thomas Lawrence in 1830 presented Rothwell with both a profound challenge and a monumental opportunity. Tasked with completing many of his master's unfinished works, Rothwell found himself momentarily positioned as a successor to one of Britain’s most celebrated portraitists. During the years between 1829 and 1831, he reached the zenith of his professional influence. However, rather than resting upon the laurels of portraiture alone, Rothwell sought a deeper connection to the roots of classical art. This ambition led him on an extensive tour of Italy from 1831 to 1834, a pilgrimage intended to study the masters and refine his ability to compose grand history paintings.
This Italian sojourn infused his work with a new dimension of light and atmosphere. While he remained a specialist in portraiture, his encounters with the Italian landscape tradition introduced a sense of veduta and classical grandeur to his oeuvre. His portraits from this era often reflect a more profound, contemplative depth, moving beyond mere social documentation toward something more poetic. Even as his popularity fluctuated following his return to London, Rothwell’s technical prowess remained undiminished. Whether capturing the delicate features of Miss Knowles in 1850 or the rugged, youthful innocence of The Little Roamer in 1843, his ability to manipulate oil on canvas allowed him to communicate a wide spectrum of human experience.
The later years of Rothwell’s life were as geographically diverse as his early career, with his work finding audiences in the United States, Ireland, and across Europe. Despite the shifting tides of art movements—from the structured elegance of his training to the more emotive textures of the mid-century—Rothwell remained steadfast in his commitment to craftsmanship. His personal life was marked by stability amidst his travels, notably through his marriage to Rosa Marshall in 1842, yet his professional life remained a restless pursuit of beauty.
The end of his journey came far from his Dublin birthplace. In 1868, while working in Rome—the very city that had once inspired his artistic expansion—Rothwell contracted a fever that claimed his life. He was laid to rest in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, a fitting final resting place for an artist whose soul was so deeply connected to the classical traditions of the Mediterranean. Today, Richard Rothwell is remembered not merely as an assistant to a master, but as a significant figure in nineteenth-century art whose works continue to resonate with their:
Meticulous craftsmanship and attention to anatomical detail;
Romantic sensibility that captured the psychological depth of his sitters;
Versatile mastery of both the intimate portrait and the expansive, light-filled landscape.
His legacy survives in museums such as the Ulster Museum, where his paintings serve as enduring windows into the social and emotional landscape of a bygone era.
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Look closely
Self Portrait — Richard Rothwell
Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.
Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.
The colors of "Self Portrait" by Richard Rothwell show a muted saturation with a monochromatic intensity.
The colors of "Self Portrait" by Richard Rothwell have a muted saturation. Saturation describes how vivid or muted the colors are.
"Self Portrait" by Richard Rothwell shows a monochromatic color intensity.