The English painter Charles Howard Hodges settled in the Netherlands in 1792. He became a successful portraitist and received important commissions, such as the state portrait of Louis Napoleon in this gallery. In this self-portrait, he chose not to depict himself as a painter with easel and palette, but as a well-to-do citizen. The work was presented to the Rijksmuseum by Hodges’ daughter Emma, whose portrait hangs nearby.