NPG 2771
Charles Samuel Keene
by Alfred William Cooper
1866
NPG 2771
This
small sketch of the eccentric caricaturist and illustrator Keene
(1823-91) by his friend Cooper, might seem to suggest that he
was an actor rather than an illustrator. Whistler considered
Keene 'The greatest artist since Hogarth', and other admirers
included Phil May and Pissaro. We are unsure of the exact circumstances
or reasons for this portrait in which Keene is shown in mid-speech.
However it is known that he enjoyed dressing up, usually in seventeenth
century costume (rather than as here in medieval attire), and
that he made studies of his friends in period costume. He was
largely self-taught, and specialised in pen and ink wash, and
from 1854 until his death, he made drawings for Punch. It was
said that he 'could emphasize the absurdity of a City man's hat,
twist a drunkard's coat awry or an old lady's bombazeen about
to pop; and he does it with such delicacy we are left in doubt
as to whether or not it is caricature'.
D. Mehul
by Camille Silvy, 1865
NPG AX64280 (Detail)
A black morning coat with short narrow lapels over a plain waistcoat with bound edges. The waistcoat has neither collar or lapels and the shirt shows a collar turned down and worn with a tie. Pale coloured, narrowly cut trousers are worn that break across the shoe.
