This head study is for the central figure of Ford Madox Brown's cartoon 'Oure Lady of Saturday Night' (now in the Tate, London). It is a good example of the second stage of his working process. Once Brown had made rough sketches of the composition, and the figures in it, he focused on each individual figure and made detailed studies of their pose, clothes and facial expression. He often used paid models to sit for him but later on he used his wife and children and friends, such as fellow artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
LM