Georg Friedrich Schmidt
Encyclopedia
Georg Friedrich Schmidt was a German engraver and designer.
in Berlin, and in 1757 he was summoned to Saint Petersburg
by the Empress Elizabeth to engrave her portrait and to organize a school of engraving. His engravings and etchings in the style of Rembrandt rank with the best work of the eighteenth century in Germany. He engraved about 200 plates, the best of which are “The Empress Elizabeth of Russia,” “Count Nicholas Eszterházy,” “Pierre Mignard,” “The Virgin and Child with Saint John,” “The Raising of Jairus's Daughter,” and “The Mother of Rembrandt.”
Biography
He studied art in Berlin under Busch, and under Nicolas Larmessin in Paris. In 1744 he was appointed engraver to Frederick IIFrederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
in Berlin, and in 1757 he was summoned to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
by the Empress Elizabeth to engrave her portrait and to organize a school of engraving. His engravings and etchings in the style of Rembrandt rank with the best work of the eighteenth century in Germany. He engraved about 200 plates, the best of which are “The Empress Elizabeth of Russia,” “Count Nicholas Eszterházy,” “Pierre Mignard,” “The Virgin and Child with Saint John,” “The Raising of Jairus's Daughter,” and “The Mother of Rembrandt.”