A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head

"A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head" by Eugène Delacroix is an intimate and exploratory drawing, executed primarily using pen and brown ink on tracing paper, which was subsequently mounted on heavy wove paper. Created over a wide period stretching between 1815 and 1863, this drawing illustrates the artist’s sustained technical interest in figurative studies, expressive heads, and anatomical detail throughout his career as a leading figure of the French Romantic movement.

The composition features two distinct subjects: a full-length, standing figure of a bearded man, perhaps a study for a historical or biblical character, juxtaposed with the crisp, generalized lines of a detached classical head. Delacroix often utilized drawing mediums to work through complex poses or to capture specific character types, utilizing the fast, fluid nature of pen and ink to establish contour and mass quickly. The use of tracing paper suggests that the artist may have been adapting or refining elements intended for use in larger compositions, a common practice for drawings of this classification. The brown ink lends warmth and depth to the rapid, yet precise, delineation of the figures.

This piece offers direct insight into Delacroix's method of figure modeling and his ongoing engagement with historical and idealized forms. The drawing provides an essential record of the master’s process, bridging the rapid sketch with the finished preparatory study. This significant work is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a key example of Delacroix’s mastery on paper. Given its date, this foundational study is now in the public domain, allowing high-quality prints to be accessed worldwide for scholarly reference.