Joseph Ducreux was a French painter in the 1700's to 1800's. Joseph attempted to break free of the norms of traditional paintings. He believed in physiognomy which is based on the belief that the study of and judgement of a person's outer appearance, primarily the face, reflects their personality and character. This is probably the cause of his different style of self-portraits. One of his self-portraits have become an internet meme that goes by the name "Sir Gangster" due to his pose. Many of these pictures can be found on knowyourmeme.com.
