Artwork Page for Portrait of a Young Man

Details / Information for Portrait of a Young Man

Portrait of a Young Man

c. 1865–1875

France, 19th century

Medium
charcoal with stumping, heightened with white chalk
Support
Coarse brown wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 36.6 x 27.9 cm (14 7/16 x 11 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.403
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The anonymity of artist and sitter by no means lessens the appeal of this portrait. The distinct lighting from the right suggests the artificial illumination of an interior. Perhaps this portrait of a youthful, dapper man is one of the many that young artists in training typically made in the studios of their fellows. It could be, on the other hand, a self-portrait made by a young man carefully examining himself in a mirror.
A vertically oriented charcoal and white chalk drawing on speckled brown paper depicts a man with light skin. Shown from the shoulders, he looks forward, head tilted slightly toward our right. Dark, wavy hair and a mustache frame his face, rendered with blended charcoal shadows while white highlights glint on his forehead and high collar. He wears a small bow tie, his shoulders defined by faint lines against the rough texture of the paper.

Portrait of a Young Man

c. 1865–1875

France, 19th century

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