After Martin Mytens the Younger, Dutch 1695-1770- Self-portrait, seated half-length, with a grey coat and turban; oil on canvas, 72x58.5cm (unframed) Provenance: with Giovanni Conti, Firenze, according to the label attached to the reverse of the stretcher; Christie's, South Kensington, 27th October 1988, lot 137. Note: The original version of this painting is in the Uffizi, Florence (Gli Uffizi. Catalogo Generale, Florence, 1979, p. 1029, no. A979), located in the famous Vasari Corridor. Mytens was first taught to paint by his father Martin Mytens the Elder (1648-1736) in Stockholm, before continuing his training in Holland, England and France. In Paris, He learned enamel painting with the renowned miniaturist, Charles Boit (1662-1727), producing celebrated images of Louis XV and Peter the Great. His interest in miniatures is reflected in this self-portrait, one shown, partly cropped to the lower right of the picture in a wooden display case. We find this theme repeated in another self-portrait painted in the 1740s, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. The folds of the golden tasselled turban are lavished with fine detail and serve strikingly to frame his face. His left hand forms a beckoning gesture, typically adopted by artists of the period, encouraging us to admire his handiwork and look on up into his frontal gaze. In 1721, Mytens travelled to Venice to acquaint himself with Venetian Masters, having shifted his attention to larger oil canvases. He was inducted as a painter to the Court upon his return to Vienna in 1726 and became director of its art academy in 1759. Please refer to department for condition report