Self-portrait of Richard Parkes Bonington
Frédéric Villot French
After Richard Parkes Bonington British
Sitter Richard Parkes Bonington British
Not on view
Resting his head in his hand, a pose typically associated with melancholy, the young painter Bonington peers out from the shadows in this moody portrait based on a brown wash drawing dated 1825–26 (British Museum). Villot executed the print at the same time as one after an early portrait of his close friend Delacroix. The two portraits commemorate a time when these young leaders of the Romantic school worked in close proximity in a shared studio in Paris. Villot's use of the roulette tool produced rich black tones enhancing the chiaroscuro of the composition.