This Etty work puzzles me. There appears to be a second man mostly outside our field of view who is grabbing the primary subject by the hair while he's sitting on a stool. Primary guy seems to be fending off the attacker with his left arm. Leaves me wondering if this is cropped from a larger piece, and on top of all that, it reminds me of a Roman mural I saw somewhere I can't remember.
This work has a "primitive" air about it. The body is less well drawn than in his other works.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is a strong Roman influence in this work. perhaps inspired by his year in Italy. That face is like a Roman theatrical mask.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about a mask, but there it is.
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