Simeon Solomon (1840-1905)

Here, an androgynous young boy wears the winged helmet of Mercury, with a high, military-style collar. Solomon has rejected the traditional flat helmet in favour of a more contemporary style, as seen in his Perseus with the Head of Medusa from the following year, as well as Twilight, Pity and Death (1889). The work is unusual in Solomon’s oeuvre for its full face depiction and the direct gaze of the sitter towards the viewer, as well as for its lack of the melancholy so often associated with Solomon’s late work.