Sam’s Selfies

The pose is elegant, kind of relaxed and satisfied, perhaps after he’s done some writing — one hand on the paper and the other holding the quill. The chair stands out: with its checked pattern, it seems more modern than classical. Sam seems to be thinking about something, perhaps a joke in his mind, because there is a bit of a smile on his face. He is pale but overall seems in a good mood, in contrast to some of the other portraits.

The backgrounds of all the classical portraits are kind of dark, and his face is the focal point. What I see is him as a thinker, not a common ordinary person. He is focused on something and is about to speak. He is in a relaxed position. The composition of the work is two-thirds the subject and one-third background, which is conventional. This is a formal pose, including the presentation of the hand. Both the face and the hand are in effect “posed” and both are angled.

It is interesting that at that time there was a specific kind of travelling clothing. His hand seems to be saying goodbye to people, even though he seems to be in the middle of nowhere! I am not sure what the small person in the background is doing there, why he was put there. Sam’s proportion to the background is really odd. Note that he takes up nearly the whole portrait, in contrast to most of the others. He is the focal point.

The background is a reddish-brown dark colour and the shirt is ultramarine blue, which makes for a contrast of hues. The colours in his face (the focal point) make Sam look really pale, similar to the Reynolds portrait on which it is based. The work overall seems in the style of Expressionism and Cubism together. I see a little of Georges Braque in the artist’s style. The lines are mostly angles and there are no curves: everything is done with angled lines. His hands imply that he is thinking about something. It’s interesting that the artist was intent on showing both hands, which meant that the top of the head is cut off.