Head of a Youth by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)

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Head of a Youth

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)

Charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper.

16 x 14 1/2 inches, 41 x 36.8 cm.

Inscribed with instructions to framer in later hand, bottom right.

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Commentary by Hilary Morgan

This is a student drawing by Rossetti, made at some time in the 1840s. It may represent a 'tete d'expression', an attempt to represent a particular emotion through facial expression. Facial expression in art was first codified in the seventeenth century by Le Brun and his work remained a staple of academic education. Rossetti could have studied the subject at the Royal Academy or through Ford Madox Brown. It is interesting that, in this early work, Rossetti shows an interest in the large-eyed, full-lipped facial type, to which he would return in the late 1860s, and which has created the image of the 'Rossetti woman.'

References

Morgan, Hilary, and Peter Nahum. Burne-Jones, the Pre-Raphaelites, and Their Century. London: Peter Nahum, 1989. Catalogue number 16.

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Last modified 23 May 2006