- Title
- Self-Portrait of John Flaxman (1755-1826)
- Date Made
- circa 1800-1815
- Medium
- Stoneware (jasperware with green dip and white applied relief)
- Dimensions
- Plaque: 6 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (15.9 x 12.1 cm); Framed: 10 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. (27.3 x 21.6 cm)
- Accession Number
- AC1997.109.1a-b
- Collecting Area
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Curatorial Notes
Few artists worked more closely with Josiah Wedgwood than the English sculptor John Flaxman Jr. At the height of his career as professor of sculpture at England’s Royal Academy, Flaxman enjoyed international acclaim for his full-scale sculptures and portrait busts. This self-portrait in the form of a small medallion depicts the artist around the age of forty. Flaxman probably created the model in the 1790s while living in Italy. From there, he sent this and other designs back to England for Wedgwood to produce. Having perfected a stoneware body in 1774 he called “jasper,” Wedgwood went on to manufacture hundreds of medallions commemorating both modern and historical figures, in addition to useful and ornamental jasper wares in different colors. The most popular, known as “Wedgwood blue,” was widely imitated by competitors and remains in production today. On this medallion, the background was dipped in olive-green glaze before the cast relief portrait was applied. Jasper medallions and larger plaques were occasionally mounted on furniture or incorporated into architectural elements such as chimneypieces.
