John Keats
1816
This delicate profile sketch captures the Romantic poet John Keats in 1816, showcasing the famous 'Greek' nose and soft curls that his friend Benjamin Robert Haydon so admired. Haydon was captivated by Keats's classical features, often comparing the poet to ancient sculptures, and this copy of his original sketch preserves that artistic obsession. The scratchy, energetic lines and the handwritten note at the bottom give the piece an intimate, diary-like feel, freezing the face of a literary genius in time just a few years before his tragic death at twenty-five.
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