Head of a Man

Sir Edward John Poynter (1836-1919)

c. 1860

Graphite and brown pencil on gray paper

229 x 141 mm (9 x 5 9/16 inches)

Head Studies are all probably studies of Apostles done as commissions for the stained-glass makers James Powell and Co. He worked on many commissions for the company between 1857 and around 1863, often producing designs that never came to be made as windows. [The best discussion of Poynter’s work in this respect is Alan Brooks, "The Stained Glass Designs of Sir Edward Poynter".] The faces in the present studies have a somewhat mannered gravitas that is typical of Poynter’s treatment of the facial expressions of important figures. — Paul Crowther

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