Lord Bacon

About this work

This oval portrait shows a serious-looking man in a dark, ruffled collar. His hair is wavy and pulled back, and he’s staring straight ahead with a slight frown. The background is plain, with a faint texture that looks like old paper. The fine lines crisscrossing his face and clothes are made by tiny etched marks—this is called cross-hatching. It’s a way to add shadow and depth without color. Look up cross-hatching to see how artists use it to create light and shadow in black-and-white work.