Geoffrey, 1941

Pencil & Pastel

Joseph Edward Southall was a leading member of what became known as the Birmingham School of artists. Southall was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and Ruskin, bot in terms of subject matter and materials. He advocated natural paints, such as tempera, as well as chalks and pastels. His technique was painstaking and involved many layers of colours and fine stippling. This is a late and tender portrait, which reminded me of Holbein’s studies of children .