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BOHEMIAN SCHOOL about 1850

STUDY OF TWO MALE HEADS IN HISTORIC COSTUME

BOHEMIAN SCHOOL, circa 1850

Pencil on paper
24.5 × 20 cm / 9.6 × 7.9 in; sheet: 32.5 × 25 cm / 12.8 × 9.8 in
Unframed, very good condition.

This finely observed drawing presents two male profiles rendered in graphite, both characterized by stylised facial features and historical headwear evoking the early decades of the Thirty Years' War. The upper figure, with long curled hair, a moustache, and a turned-up collar, resembles a cavalier of the 1630s, while the lower head—wearing a fantasy helmet with articulated ear-guard and hood—appears to echo the martial costume of the late 16th to early 17th century.

Executed with delicate linework and subtle shading, the sheet exemplifies the historicist sensibilities of mid-19th-century Central European draughtsmanship. Likely produced within an academic or amateur artistic context, it reflects the period’s fascination with early modern military and courtly imagery. The composition may have served as an exercise in physiognomy, costume study, or illustration for romantic literature.

Minor foxing and handling marks; overall very good condition. Mounted on a modern archival board.

Base: Paper

Epoque: XIX century

Genre: Portrait

Genre: History painting

School: Austrian

School: Bohemian

Technic: Pencil