Sunday, November 19, 2017

A Brief Interlude 3: A New(ish) Portrait of Nelson

According to Smithsonian.com, a portrait of Lord Nelson has recently been rediscovered.  What's significant is that this 1799 portrait by an Italian artist shows Nelson's wound from the Nile, instead of ignoring it.  Apparently this painting had the 19th Century equivalent of airbrushing done to the wound at one point, but during restoration that paint was removed.  While you can't tell that his arm has been amputated, the picture is a far cry from the usual Nelson portraits.  The Smithsonian.com article is here:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-portrait-lord-nelson-found-scars-and-all-180967205/

EDIT:  Originally, there was not a direct way to show the photo on here, so I provided some links.  Well, as of 12/4 the picture is apparently available online.  So, here it is:


This picture is of a man who is tired, and hurt.  It's certainly an antidote to the usual view we have of him.

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