Head of a Bearded Young Man - Study for The Stolen Child Recovered

Artist Sir William Allan (Edinburgh, Scotland, 1782 - 1850)

Datec.1840

Mediumsanguine, black and white chalk on paper

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 19.5 cm, Width: 17.1 cm
Frame: Height: 40 cm, Width: 55.5 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1965.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG003285

Keywords

About MeThis chalk drawing is a preparatory study for an oil painting dating to 1840 that has in recent years been ascribed with the title "The Stolen Child Recovered". It is unlikely that this is correct, given the other painting of this title in the Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections, but their subjects certainly overlap. And the broader theme - the plight of those forcibly removed from their family or homeland - recurs time and again in Allan's work, both Scottish and Oriental. Although clearly kilted, there is something distinctly "Circassian" about the headdress of the seated figure in the centre. Is Allan harking back to his first preference of Orientalism, which he forwent in favour of Scottish subjects when they failed to sell?

This drawing describes the reluctant hero in the doorway, who cocks his hat and makes a quiet exit having safely returned the child. The contrast of black and white chalks enhances his dark features so that he, too, seems reminiscent of the characters that populate Allan's Oriental canvases. Of course, there is every chance that Allan made these studies during one of many sojourns to Turkey and beyond, adapting them later for the painting.
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This piece is a preparatory drawing, used as a basis for one of the characters in Allen's The Stolen Child Recovered - which is also in our collection!