Man's Head

Man's Head (1858) is Alma-Tadema's earliest known dated work, made when he was just twenty-two and training in Antwerp under the history painter Henri Leys. The head study is a foundational exercise in academic training—painting or drawing the human head from a model to develop understanding of facial anatomy, light modeling, and physiognomic character. Towner Eastbourne holds this canvas from a collection that has assembled an unusual group of early and developmental Victorian works. At this date Alma-Tadema was still immersed in the Northern European academic tradition of his Belgian training, years away from the Roman subjects that would make him famous. The study's existence in a British collection reflects the broad dispersal of his early works during his long London career and posthumous estate dispersal.

Oil on canvas in the academic head study format—focused entirely on the face and neck against a plain ground. The technique at this early date shows Alma-Tadema developing his understanding of light modeling on the face, building from his academic training in Antwerp under the direct influence of Northern European academic oil technique.