Bearded Man in Profile (recto) / Woman Looking Up (verso)
1859
graphite
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1859
graphite
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This sketch shows a bearded man’s face in profile, drawn in loose, quick lines. His hair and beard are messy, almost like scribbles, and his head is tilted slightly. The paper is a light blue-gray, dotted with tiny specks, and the drawing looks like it was done fast, with no heavy shading. The back of the paper has another sketch—a woman looking up, but it’s faint. The artist used only graphite, making the lines soft and sketchy. This style fits a time when artists focused on emotion and quick, expressive marks. Next, look up Romanticism to see how this sketch fits into that movement.
