Artwork
Self-Portrait Sketching
Self-Portrait Sketching is a pastel drawing by the Romanticist artist Georg Friedrich Schmidt. It dates from 1752 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Check out the technique: sfumato next to see how artists like this one create smooth transitions.
This sketch shows a person drawing while sitting at a table. They’re wearing a dark coat, a light shirt, and a wide-brimmed hat. The artist’s hand holds a pencil or brush, resting on a piece of paper. The background is plain, focusing all attention on the face and hands.
The artist signed the work in the corner, marking the year 1752. The soft, blended lines suggest a focus on mood over detail.
Check out the technique: sfumato next to see how artists like this one create smooth transitions.
Overview
Georg Friedrich Schmidt’s *Self‑Portrait Sketching* (1752) is a mixed‑media drawing executed on laid paper. The artist employed a palette of black, red, blue, yellow and white chalks, smoothing the pigments with a stump to achieve soft transitions. The work records the artist at his easel, captured in a compact, intimate format.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a figure seated at a table, dressed in a dark coat, light shirt and wide‑brimmed hat, poised with a drawing implement in hand. By portraying himself in the act of drawing, Schmidt foregrounds the creative process, emphasizing the artist’s identity through gesture and focused expression rather than elaborate narrative.
Technique & Style
Schmidt combined colored chalks with stumping, a method that blends pigment to produce a velvety, sfumato‑like surface. The use of laid paper, with its subtle ribbed texture, contributes to the overall tonal modulation. The drawing’s restrained palette and smooth modeling reflect the Rococo’s decorative sensibility while prioritizing mood over fine detail.
History & Provenance
Created in 1752, the piece bears Schmidt’s signature and date in the lower corner, confirming its authorship. Schmidt (1712–1775) was a German engraver, etcher and pastelist whose career was rooted in the Rococo tradition. The work remains a documented example of his self‑portraiture and his experimentation with chalk media.
Context
During the mid‑18th century, German artists like Schmidt engaged with the broader European Rococo movement, which favored elegance, lightness and decorative flair. His choice of chalks and stumping aligns with contemporary pastel practices, allowing rapid, expressive rendering suited to informal studies such as self‑portraits.
Artist & collection
Artist
Georg Friedrich Schmidt was a German engraver, etcher and pastel painter, in the Rococo style.
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