Self-Portrait with Five Musesc. 1880 · Study 2012.30

Context from the museum

Lifelong Chagrin Falls resident Church is considered one of the great self-taught artists of 19th-century America. A painter, sculptor, and musician by passion, he offered his appearance and enthusiasms in this highly imaginative self-portrait, surrounding himself with a squadron of miniature winged muses. These figures represent not only the traditional arts of painting, sculpture, and music, but also Church's profession of blacksmithing (identified as a crowned figure holding a hammer and anvil). A savvy entrepreneur, Church launched the first commercial art gallery in northeast Ohio: Church's Art Museum, at Geauga Lake, in 1888. Its inventory consisted entirely of his own work.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Church "spoke" at his funeral via an Edison phonograph recording he made for the occasion.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for Self-Portrait with Five Muses is 59.7 cm wide and 73.3 cm high, equivalent to approximately 23.5 × 28.9 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.81:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.44 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 19.9% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 120.2 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Self-Portrait with Five Muses in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on paper mounted to board, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 59.7 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?