Just The Most Wonderful Small Victorian Portrait of a Young Gentleman with a slightly Pensive look on his beautiful face.

THE STORY - Well it can be of no surprise that as soon as my eyes fell upon that face I was in love. There was for me an expression of slight uncertainty, possibly what is showing is the transition of ones identity from a child to a young adult and all the uncertain expectations that brings. The portrait is small, painted with oil on board and sits in wooden frame which is unglazed and which I am certain has been re-painted with gold paint at some point in its life. On the reverse of the painting there is some script but sadly I have found it impossible to read, only really making out the date '30th'. The portrait I believe would date to circa 1840 and is just glorious and I think finely painted with the use of wonderful flesh coloured tones for the face and the wonderful red of his small lips. But I guess it is those large deep set eyes that hold our attention framed by those strong dark eyebrows. And how I love his hair, severely side-parted but still with a sense of 'floppy' movement. I imagine the young gentleman to be dressed in his school attire with that very large collared white shirt and waistcoat and black tie and jacket. And somehow those binary colours give further strength to the portrait allowing that simple olive green background to hold everything together.

AGE - Circa 1840

CONDITION - The portrait is in very good condition, with the colours of the paint still wonderfully strong. As I have already mentioned the verso on the reverse has sadly faded with time making it virtually illegible. The frame too is in good condition but I do believe it has been repainted at some point, and indeed there is an area on the frame under the portrait where the paint appears to be less shiny, this can best be seen in the third photo.

DIMENSIONS (Approx) - Framed - Height 7&1/2" / 19cm, Width 6&3/4" / 17cm, Depth 3/4" / 2cm. Image Size - Height 3&3/4" / 9.5cm, Width 2&3/4" / 7cm

I really do love this little portrait and I have to confess I have struggled deciding whether I should sell it or not, but it makes me so proud to have it in my shop so selling it I am. And when I looked at the close-up photo I took of that wonderful face I had to smile when I saw those wonderful long black eyelashes as it always seems to me that annoyingly it is always boys who are blessed with such eyelashes. But most of all I hope if the slightly pensive look expressed in his face was about the uncertainty of growing up that his life as a man was both a happy, long and healthy one.