Cut Profile Portrait of a Man

Date1830-1835

MediumWatercolor on cut wove paper with black pulpboard backing

Dimensions4" x 3 1/8" (10.1 cm x 7.9 cm.) unframed; Framed: 5 1/8" x 4 3/8" excluding wire hanging hook.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1976.306.3

DescriptionA half-length profile portrait of a man facing left, his head a hollow-cut silhouette, the rest of his body painted in differing dilutions of black watercolor, his trousers fawn-colored. His PL arm is raised to waist height, the tiny hand poised near the bottom of his red-and-gray- striped waistcoat and black coat.
The original 1/2-inch wood frame has a stamped brass foil cover with an oval aperature; it is clinched into grooves worked into all four frame members.
Label TextThe intriguing abstract shapes of the bodies of this subject and its companion portrait (1976.306.4) give the pair special appeal. The rapid brushstrokes suggesting the elaborate folds and curves of the woman's dress add a decorative touch, while the bold, simplified designs and largely monochromatic coloring produce greater visual impact than many similar but more realistically rendered small-scale likenesses. Consequently, the relatively inept hollow-cutting of the heads becomes less noticeable and less objectionable. Pale red stripes alternate with gray in the man's waistcoat, and his hands are a warm flesh tone. Otherwise, different tonalities have been produced by dilutions of the artist's basic black watercolor.

MarkingsNone found on the primary support. Part of a printed card for the Cortland, New York, Business Institute has been used as backing for both this portait and its companion (1976.306.4).
ProvenanceHillary Underwood, Woodstock, Vt.