John Flaxman
1823
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1823
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
John Flaxman is a 1823 ink by James Thomson, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This is a black-and-white portrait of an older man with a bald head and a neatly trimmed beard. He’s wearing a dark coat over a light shirt with a high collar, looking straight ahead with a calm expression. The background is plain, keeping all focus on his face and shoulders. The image is an engraving, not a painting—you can see the fine lines and shading that create the details. This style was common for portraits in magazines back then. Look up engraving to see how artists like this made prints before photography.
