Portrait of the Artist in his Studio, 1884 by Claude Monet

Portrait of the Artist in his Studio is unsigned, and the bottom half of the canvas has been worked on only slightly. It can, therefore, be assumed that this is an unfinished work. Monet did other self-portraits, but what makes this interesting is its setting in his studio.

Monet felt the need to include a background to his portrait. Significantly, he does not refer to this as a self-portrait but titles it in the third person. This is a portrait of him as an artist, not as a person with other aspects to his character; his definition comes from his art. Also, unlike other Monet portraits, Monet's eyes here are averted from the viewer, not inviting an intimate response. Thus, although the viewer is being given access to the artist's studio, the experience is not an intimate one, and the viewer of the printing is slightly removed from the subject of the picture.

Claude Monet is pictured caught at an idle moment, his look distant and his hands relaxed onto his legs. Interestingly, Monet chose to paint himself as an artist at a moment when he was not working.