Drawing Of A Man From The Italian Risorgimento, Italian School, Mid-19th Century. Cm 59 X 44

Drawing of a Man from the Italian Risorgimento, Italian School, mid-19th century

Dimensions: 59 × 44 cm

Technique: Charcoal on antique handmade grey rag paper

Italian school. 

A realistic life drawing depicting a middle-aged man, observed directly from nature. The face is rendered with immediacy and presence, while the hair—slightly animated as if moved by the wind—gives the portrait an expressive and dynamic character. The intensity of the gaze still carries traces of Romantic ideals, yet the overall language already belongs to the more direct and concrete approach of the mid-19th century.

The modelling is natural and assured, based on close observation rather than idealisation. The sitter’s clothing is consistent with fashions of the Italian Risorgimento period, reinforcing both the dating and the contemporary character of the portrait.

Executed on fine antique handmade paper. Two small holes along the upper edge indicate that the sheet was pinned in the studio, likely used as a working drawing. The paper shows folds and small imperfections along the edges, which do not affect the central image.

The drawing comes from a group of portfolios preserved in an old Tuscan property, bringing together drawings accumulated over time by several generations between the 18th century and the first quarter of the 20th century.