The Smoker (Portrait of the Painter Horstig)
c. 1873/1874
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
image: 20.48 × 17.15 cm (8 1/16 × 6 3/4 in.) sheet: 33.66 × 24.13 cm (13 1/4 × 9 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Wolfgang Ratjen Foundation in Memory of Wolfgang Ratjen on the 75th Anniversary of His Birth
Accession Number
2018.129.13
Art Historical Context
**The Smoker (Portrait of the Painter Horstig)** created by Wilhelm Leibl around1873–1874, captures the introspective gaze of fellow artist Anton Horstig in a moment of quiet contemplation, pipe in hand. Leibl, a leading figure in German Realism, was renowned for his unflinching depictions of everyday life, drawing inspiration from the Barbizon school and Gustave Courbet. This intimate portrait reflects the Realist emphasis on truthful observation, portraying Horstig not as a romantic ideal but as a relatable, working-class figure amid the cultural shifts of late 19th-century Bavaria. Etched ...
About the Artist
Wilhelm Leibl · 1844–1900
Wilhelm Leibl (1844–1900) was the foremost German Realist painter of the nineteenth century, a figure who dedicated his career to an uncompromising fidelity to observed reality at a time when idealized academic painting still dominated official taste. Born in Cologne, he studied at the Munich Academy under Karl von Piloty, but the decisive influence on his development came from his encounter with ...