Portrait anonyme

Original pencil drawing, signed with the monogram WH and inscribed "Roma, 1825".
Portrait of a young aristocrat by Wilhelm Hensel, Prussian portrait painter, during his trip to Rome between 1823 and 1828.
Strongly influenced by Italian painting, Hensel copied Raphael's works extensively during his stay in Rome and had also painted a portrait of Henry of Prussia the year before. The "city of seven hills" was a place of convergence between the young aristocrats who made the Grand Tour and the artists who lived or trained in Rome and portrayed the young people on their journey.