1797
chalk
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Amanthis with Pearls is a 1797 chalk by John Raphael Smith, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This is a close-up portrait of a woman with light skin and curly hair piled high on her head. She wears a pearl necklace and a fancy dress with lace trim. Her hands hold a string of beads, and one earring dangles near her shoulder. The artist used shading to make her face look three-dimensional, especially around her cheekbones and neck. This technique makes her skin glow against the dark background. Next, look up *chiaroscuro* to see how artists use light and shadow like this.
John Raphael Smith (25 May 1751 – 2 March 1812) was a British painter and mezzotinter. He was the son of the landscape painter Thomas Smith and the father of John Rubens Smith, a painter who emigrated to the United States.
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