Portrait Study of an Oriental Youth

Oil on canvas, framed

74 cm. wide x 61.5 cm. high / 29 x 24 ins (94 cm. x 81 cm. framed)

PROVENANCE:

Sotheby's London, British Paintings 1500-1850, 9th July 1997, lot 104; with The Parker Gallery, England

This portrait study is a captivating example of British orientalist portraiture. It shows, from three angles, a handsome young moustachioed Indian (or possibly Arabian) male glancing to dexter, wearing a collared shirt, with long black locks of hair flowing beneath a red-and-white turban. He is surrounded by a background of swirling red clouds.

The present portrait study is closely related to two other finished portraits. The first, a portrait of the Greek War of Independence hero, Prince Johannis Mavromichaeli, from the collection of Sir Nicholas Goodison, was previously attributed to the Bristol-born artist, William James Müller (Christie’s, London, 25 May 2022). That portrait may be related to the present portrait in terms of the sitter’s glance to dexter, the swirling clouds in the background, the fine locks of hair, sketchy finish of the dress and the rendering of the face and particularly the glassy whites of the eyes (which are illuminated with vertical strokes of bright white around the corners). Comparison with other signed portraits by Müller, however, which are in general far more sombre and stylised, would rule out an attribution for either of these portraits to him.

Another portrait of an oriental male (described as an ‘Indian boy’) sold in Sotheby’s (London, April 20th 1990, lot 50), was given to the British artist, William Etty (1787-1849). The Sotheby’s portrait can also be compared to the present portrait in terms of the oriental subject, composition on a background of swirling clouds and the rendering of the face and eyes. This suggests that all three of the paintings discussed here were executed by the same hand, suggesting the artist was a significant figure. The lighter colour palette and rendering of the clouds are unlike most of Etty’s work, however, making an attribution to him less probable.

It seems likely, therefore, that the present painting was a preparatory sketch for a larger portrait, executed by an accomplished British artist who was working in the circle of Etty in London, possibly during a trip to India or the Middle East.

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