Francis Harwood
English, active in Italy, 1748–1783
Bust of a Man, 1758
Black stone (pietra di paragone) on a yellow Siena marble socle
Harwood chose a black stone to render the sitter’s skin tone. As in some ancient marble and bronze sculptures, the bust ends in a wide arc below the man’s chest. The artist may have deliberately used this elegant, rounded termination to evoke associations with ancient busts of notable men. Although the identity of the sitter is unknown, the scar on his face suggests that this is a portrait of a specific individual. It may be one of the earliest sculpted portraits of a Black person by a European artist.
