Skip to main content
National Gallery of Art National Gallery of Art

Directions

  • Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
  • Directions

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    East building

    Must-Sees at the National Gallery

    Make the most of your visit

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

  • Support
  • Shop
  • Become a Member

Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

National Gallery of Art

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    East building

    Must-Sees at the National Gallery

    Make the most of your visit

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

  • Support
  • Shop
  • Become a Member

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    East building

    Must-Sees at the National Gallery

    Make the most of your visit

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

  • Support
  • Shop
  • Become a Member

Directions

  • Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
  • Directions

Global Search

Autocomplete Suggestions
    No Results
    Keep typing to get suggestions
    Loading Results

    Top Searches:

    • Free images
    • Van Gogh
    • Landscape
    • National Gallery Nights
    • Matisse
    Advanced Artwork Search

    Breadcrumb

    1. Home
    2. Artworks
    3. Old Art Limited
    Provenance

    Old Art Limited

    Explore selected works

    Artwork

    In this vertical portrait painting, a pale-skinned, bearded man holding a painter’s palette and brushes stands in front of a painting on an easel that shows a chubby child and a slender dog. The man stands in the lower right quadrant of the composition, close to us. Shown from the waist up, his body faces our left in profile, and he turns to look at us. His forehead is lined, and his left eye, to our right, turns in a bit toward his nose. His shoulder-length, wavy, ash-blond hair gleams. His brushy mustache flips up at the ends over closed pink lips, and he has a narrow strip of a beard on the hint of a double chin. He wears a black garment with a wide white collar, and white fabric peeks through a slit in the sleeve we can see. He holds the palette and five thin brushes in the hand closer to us and a sixth brush in his other hand. The palette is dotted with white, light brown, burnt orange, and black smears of paint. The painting within the painting takes up most of the composition, but a sliver of the easel’s legs and the top brace are visible along the upper and lower edges of the composition. The painting within shows a nude, small boy with pale, peachy skin. His blond hair curls onto his forehead and around his ears. He stands with one knee leaning against a rock to our right. He holds a small bow close to his body in his left hand, on our right, with a quiver of arrows slung across his chest. His right hand extends to our left to hook a finger into the collar of a sleek, light-brown dog that lies alongside him. The dog’s chest faces our left, but the head, with a long, narrow muzzle, turns back to gaze at the child. Near the dog’s front feet and the child’s standing foot is a square, light tan stone slab. The top surface is carved with a snake swallowing its tail. A dark brown rocky outcropping rises along the right side of the painting within the painting. Gray clouds skim across a vibrant blue sky above the dog and boy.
    Guercino, Self-Portrait before a Painting of "Amor Fedele", 1655, oil on canvas, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2005.13.1

    Self-Portrait before a Painting of "Amor Fedele"

    Self-Portrait before a Painting of "Amor Fedele"

    Guercino · 1655 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2005.13.1

    Site Footer

    Home National Gallery of Art

    Hours

    Admission is always free.
    Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

    Locations

    • West Building

      6th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, DC 20565

    • East Building

      4th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, DC 20565

    • Sculpture Garden

      7th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, DC 20565

    Newsletter Sign Up Form

    Art news every week

    Subscribe

    * indicates required

    Follow us

    Social Media

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Footer Primary Menu

    • About
      • About Us
      • Press
      • Contact Us
    • Visit
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Calendar
      • Today's Tours
      • Accessibility
      • Exhibitions
    • Get Involved
      • Donate
      • Opportunities
    • Research
      • Free Images for Download
      • Artwork Search
      • The Center
      • Conservation
      • Library
      • Archives
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Publications
    © 2026 National Gallery of Art

    Legal Links

    • Notices
    • Privacy Policy