Self-Portrait

Francesco Paolo Michetti chose to title this drawing Scherzoto reflect the intention behind his self-portrait. To express the idea of a scherzo, a sprightly musical composition or movement, Michetti applied his materials in a quick, gestural manner that conjures up the music's darting, skipping rhythms. The brilliance of Michetti's color, particularly the halo of white around his face, also evokes the scherzo's liveliness. During the later 1800s, many artists believed in a concept known as synesthesia: that color and sound were so closely related that color could stimulate the sensation of sound and sound could stimulate the sensation of color.

At age twenty-six, in the same year that one of his pictures received great public acclaim, Michetti drew multiple self-portraits. His direct gaze, the proud angle of his head, and the bravura handling convey his self-confidence.