Study of a Man’s Head for ‘Picciola’ c. 1853

Editor: This is Robert Braithwaite Martineau's "Study of a Man's Head for 'Picciola'" housed here at the Tate. It's dreamy, almost unfinished. What do you make of this portrait? Curator: It feels like a fleeting thought, doesn't it? Martineau captures a pensive mood with such delicate brushstrokes, like trying to catch a whisper. I wonder what the sitter was thinking about... Do you get a sense of melancholy? Editor: I do, a little. It's in the downward gaze and the soft light. Did Martineau often leave his paintings like this, or was this just a preliminary sketch? Curator: More of a sketch, I think. But sometimes, the raw emotion of a sketch speaks louder than a polished canvas. It’s like glimpsing the artist's soul alongside the sitter's. I find it quite moving, actually. Editor: I see what you mean. It's more intimate this way.