Self-portrait, yawning - Joseph Ducreux

A striking eighteenth-century self-portrait by Joseph Ducreux, capturing the artist in a candid, unrefined moment of fatigue.

Joseph Ducreux was a French portraitist who served as the first painter to Louis XVI. This work, titled Self-portrait, yawning, represents a departure from the formal, rigid portraiture conventions of the eighteenth century. Instead of presenting a composed or idealised version of himself, Ducreux captures a fleeting, unrefined moment of human fatigue.

The artist depicts himself with his mouth wide open in a yawn, his arms stretched upwards, and his eyes squinting. He wears a red coat, a waistcoat, and a simple white cap. The lighting is dramatic, focusing on the contours of his face and the texture of his clothing against a dark, indistinct background. This approach aligns with the physiognomic studies popular during the period, which sought to map human emotions and character traits through facial expressions.

Ducreux produced several self-portraits that explore exaggerated expressions, such as surprise or mockery. These works functioned as demonstrations of his technical skill in rendering complex musculature and transient states of being. By choosing to portray himself in such an informal manner, Ducreux challenged the expectations of his patrons and the artistic establishment of the time. The painting remains a curious example of how an artist might use their own likeness to experiment with the boundaries of genre painting and psychological realism. The execution is precise, with smooth brushwork that defines the folds of the fabric and the tension in his jaw. It is an exercise in observation, documenting the physical reality of a yawn with clinical attention to detail.