SEYBOLD, Christian

(b. ~1690 Mainz, d. 1768 Wien)

German painter, active in Austria. He went to Vienna in his youth and, apparently self-taught, became a portrait-painter. His earliest known work, surviving only in an engraving (1728) by Andreas Schmutzer and Josef Schmutzer, is a portrait of Graf Johann Adam Questenberg in the formal Baroque style. Subsequently, under the influence of Balthasar Denner, he turned to a more intimate style of representation, mainly in simple half-length or head-and-shoulders portraits. He was influenced by Rembrandt both directly through the study of his works and also through Jan Kupecky who worked in Vienna for a time.

Portrait of a Small Girl

In this portrait of a small, blonde girl, a transition from the Baroque and occasionally Rococo lightness with the staged composition to a new style that anticipates Biedermeier painting can be observed.

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Self-Portrait as a Young Man

In this self-portrait the artist turns toward the viewer with an engaging self-consciousness. He wears a grey jacket, a white scarf and a softly gathered brown beret. The background is neutral and no curtain, landscape or objects related to the painting profession were included. The bust format of the portrait excludes proud posturing and only the serene look and the smile lurking at the corner of the mouth seek the viewers’ attention. The confident handling of light and shadow has an important role in creating the lively expression of the face.

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Self-Portrait as an Old Man

In this self-portrait the painter records on his face every indication of old age with the greatest precision and inventories them with what contemporaries called “pore painting” naturalism. In his earlier self-portrait the face was the mirror of personality, of the character and of the soul. In this later one it is the mirror of the decline of the body.

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