Autolycus

Leslie's Autolycus depicts the rogue pedlar from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale — the charming thief who is 'a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles' and whose songs and deceptions lighten the play's otherwise dark tale of jealousy and redemption. Autolycus was among the most appealing of Shakespeare's comic characters for Victorian painters, his combination of roguish charm, musical talent, and cheerful dishonesty making him a figure of popular entertainment rather than moral condemnation. Leslie's treatment gave visual form to this essentially theatrical character — showing him with his ballads and trinkets in a country setting appropriate to the Bohemia of the play's comic second half.

The figure's animated expression and dramatic gesture are rendered with theatrical precision. Leslie's handling of the character's ragged costume and his wares shows detailed naturalistic observation within the literary framework.