The Student
1839
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (59.7 x 49.5 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Francis T. S. Darley, 1914
Accession Number
14.126.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *The Student* (1839), an enchanting oil-on-canvas portrait measuring 23½ x 19½ inches, captures the refined elegance of mid-19th-century Americanure. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, this work exemplifies Sully's mastery as one of America's leading portraitists, influenced by the Romantic traditions of British artists like Sir Thomas Lawrence. Sully, a Philadelphia-based painter of English descent, was renowned for his luminous skin tones, delicate brushwork, and ability to convey poise and intellect, making his subjects appear both lifelike and idealize...
About the Artist
Thomas Sully · 1783–1872
Thomas Sully, born on June 19, 1783, in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, to actor parents Matthew Sully and Sarah Chester, emigrated with his family to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1792. Raised in a theatrical environment, young Thomas debuted as a tumbler at age 11 before discovering his artistic talent. He studied miniature painting with his brother Lawrence Sully, brother-in-law Jean Belzon...