Self-Portrait in the Studio

After the turn of the century, Stuck remained in great demand as a portrait painter, particularly for female sitters. He produced a large number of portraits of himself and his family, often in elaborate costumes.

Franz von Stuck’s self-portrait shows him in his grand studio. Here is an artist who knew his own worth and could persuade the most significant others to that effect, doubtless the key to von Stuck’s success. This self-image stresses the artist’s gentlemanly role: he paints in formal attire, bearing a wing collar, as he gazes in awe at a completed nude of his own creation.