Head of a boy

Eugen von Blaas (1843-1931) was born in Albano Laziale near Rome, where he trained under his father, the Austrian history painter Karl von Blaas (1815-1894), who taught at the fine arts academy in Venice. He definitively settled in Venice after his marriage in 1867 and achieved there a reasonable success. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, Grafton Gallery and New gallery between 1875 and 1892.

This painting is a fine example of the numerous portraits of the small fishing community in Venice Blaas executed around 1880. the free and naturalistic brushwork is close to the Realist art which developed in Italy in the second half of the 19th century through the Macchiaoli movement which developed in Italy under the influence of Corot and Courbet.