Man with Sideburns

Dateca. 1825

MediumWatercolor and pencil on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Support: 10 x 8 1/16in. (25.4 x 20.5cm) and Framed: 14 3/8 x 12 1/2in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1977.300.3

DescriptionA half-length profile portrait of a blue-eyed, black-haired man with sideburns facing left; he wears a black coat, waistcoat, and neck cloth and a white shirt; his lower arms and body are obscured by a horizontal band running the width of the composition, shaded with black using a dry brush, and visually loosely suggestive of marbleizing. Below the "marbleized" band is a second one, the lower one "striped" by dragging narrow objects, such as brush bristles, through the paint when still wet. The background immediately surrounding the figure is light, shading to more intense blue at the outer edges and applied by a sponging or daubing technique.
The 2 3/4-inch gilded splayed frame with half-round moldings is probably a period replacement.
Label TextThis small portrait of an unidentified man is interesting for the variety of techniques that were employed in its creation. The outermost background seems to have been produced by sponging or rag-daubing the paint while the fine "combed" lines at the bottom may have been made by dragging stiff brush bristles or other implements through the wet paint. The border immediately below the figure was shaded off with a dry brush to suggest a marbelized surface.
MarkingsNone found
ProvenanceEdgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, New York, NY; sold at Sotheby Parke Bernet 1977.