A Man's Head (in Sketch Book With Drawings on Twenty-six Leaves)
ca. 1849
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
Sheet (page): 7 7/8 x 10 7/8 in. (20 x 27.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1942
Accession Number
42.21(15)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate pages of Frederic, Lord Leighton's *Sketch Book With Drawings on Twenty-six Leaves*, created around 1849, visitors encounter *A Man's Head*—a poignant graphite study from the artist's formative years. At just 19, Leighton, who would later rise as a pillar of Victorian art and President of the Royal Academy, immersing himself in the rigorous study of human form. This drawing, measuring 7 7/8 x 10 7/8 inches, exemplifies the sketchbook tradition, where quick, expressive lines captured fleeting observations to build mastery in anatomy and expression. Rendered in graphite on paper...
About the Artist
Frederic, Lord Leighton · 1830–1896
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (1830–1896), was born on 3 December 1830 in Scarborough, England, to a prosperous medical family. His father, Dr. Frederic Septimus Leighton, and mother, Augusta Susan, provided him with financial security throughout his life, while his grandfather, Sir James Boniface Leighton, had served as physician to Russian tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I. After early ed...