Georg Friedrich Schmidt

Georg Friedrich Schmidt was famous for his engraved portraits in Europe in the eighteenth century. After training with the engraver Georg Paul Busch, he left for Paris in 1736 accompanied by his friend Georg Wille. In Paris, Schmidt met Nicolas Lancret and subsequently worked for Nicolas Larmessin, before being agreed to the Royal Academy in 1742. From 1744, Schmidt became the engraver of the Prussian King Frederick II and made portraits of aristocrats, as well as the emperor’s effigies. His talents also brought him to work in Saint Petersburg for the Tsarina Elisaveta Petrovna. Schmidt stayed five years in Saint Petersburg where he founded a school of engraving specialized in the art of imperial portraits.