Self-portrait Holding a Portrait of Her Sister - Rosalba Carriera

A refined eighteenth-century pastel portrait by Rosalba Carriera, depicting the artist with a likeness of her sister.

Rosalba Carriera was a central figure in the development of pastel as a serious medium for portraiture during the early eighteenth century. This work captures the artist in a moment of professional activity, holding a framed portrait of her sister, Giovanna, who served as her assistant and frequent subject. Carriera’s technique involves the delicate application of powdered pigment, allowing for soft transitions of tone and a luminous quality that oil paint often struggled to replicate at the time.

The composition reflects the conventions of the period, with the artist turning to engage the viewer directly. Her attire, featuring fine lace and silk, demonstrates the attention to texture that defined her output. The inclusion of the secondary portrait serves as a personal statement, acknowledging the collaborative nature of her studio practice. Carriera’s ability to render skin tones with such subtlety earned her commissions across Europe, including at the courts of Paris and Vienna.

In this piece, the muted background ensures that the focus remains on the figures. The soft lighting emphasises the facial features, while the handling of the lace collar reveals the precision required in pastel work. Carriera was one of the first artists to elevate pastel from a medium for preparatory sketches to a finished, gallery-ready format. Her influence on the genre was significant, as she helped establish the aesthetic preferences of the Rococo era. This print captures the texture of the original paper and the layered application of the pastel sticks, providing a clear view of her technical approach. It remains a representative example of her skill in capturing both likeness and personality within a single frame.