Self-portrait (?) with Sketch of D. G. Rossetti

This haunting self-portrait captures both outward appearance and inner psyche. The artist pictures himself in a simple smock that recalls the robes of a monastic order. The recessed, staring eyes do not focus on any exterior object, but instead appear to witness an interior vision. Smetham was an intense, deeply religious man. Following a mental and physical collapse in 1877 he was committed to an asylum. The profile sketch of a man in the upper right corner of this drawing probably represents Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a friend and supporter of the artist.