Sorrell undertook this self-portrait one month after he had arrived in Rome to take up his two-year scholarship, and it shows him in his downstairs studio at the British School. The self-portrait makes a bold statement and the quality of draughtsmanship and commanding composition make it one of the most striking works that Sorrell produced in Rome.
The intensely observed and sharply delineated drawing of the folds and other forms
demonstrate a study of Masaccio and Piero della Francesca and other Italian Renaissance masters.
Sorrell’s presentation of himself is introspective and melancholic, reflecting his state of mind during these early days in Rome.