Self-Portrait - Soda Jerk by Norman Rockwell

Drawing its theme from the studio mise en abyme and the illustrator’s craft, this original composition created by Norman Rockwell under the title “Self-Portrait - Soda Jerk (Rockwell)” reveals the artist painting one of his own works on an easel. The author allows us behind the scenes of artistic creation with great modesty. This canvas offers a captivating reflection on the making of narrative imagery.

Depicted in left profile, the grey-haired painter holds his wooden pipe between his teeth while working. He wears a dark shirt and holds a cluster of brushes in his left hand at the edge of the canvas. His right hand wields a fine brush resting on the picture depicting teenagers gathered around a soda fountain. On the work-in-progress canvas appear a young server in a paper cap and children drinking soda. The neutral grey studio background cleanly sets off the artist’s slender silhouette and the canvas’s vivid colors. Raking light highlights the texture of fresh paint and canvas grain.

Norman Rockwell asserts astounding virtuosity here in texture imitation and dual painterly play. His meticulous rendering of greying hair, pipe wood, and paint brushstrokes confirms his extraordinary mastery of oil paint.