Bearded Figure

John Flaxman

1790

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Romanticism 18th Century

About this work

This sketch shows a single, simple face with a beard and a rounded hat. The lines are light but clear, drawn in brown ink over faint pencil marks. The paper is mostly blank, with just a few scattered marks around the figure. The artist used quick, confident strokes to suggest the face’s shape and expression. The hat’s brim is drawn as a smooth curve, while the beard is made up of short, sharp lines. Next, check out cross-hatching to see how artists build shading with layers of lines.