William Makepeace Thackeray
ca. 1850
This intimate pencil sketch by a young Frederic Leighton captures the famous Victorian novelist William Makepeace Thackeray in a moment of quiet repose. Thackeray, best known for his satirical masterpiece Vanity Fair, is depicted resting his head, perhaps exhausted from writing, with his signature spectacles perched on his nose. Leighton, who would later become the President of the Royal Academy, shows a remarkable sensitivity here, using loose, energetic lines to convey the writer's weary but intelligent expression. It's a rare glimpse of a literary giant caught off guard, far from the stiff, formal portraits typical of the Victorian era.
- Technique
- Pencil sketch
- Material
- Paper
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