Hair

Hello,

  So for a school project we had to pick a painting and do a report about the artist then try and redo the picture. I picked the portrait of Nicholas by Earnest Lipgart and it got me wondering wasn't his hair brown? In the portrait it looks black with a brown beard..
 
   If anybody could clear that up for me it would be greatly appreciated!

  Thanks!

I think Nicky's hair was painted there  a shade darker than usual  because he's in a low lite interior . Nicholas's beard was indeed lighter than his hair. I've looked at the portait on line and to me, his hair seems a dark brown  and his beard a lighter brown...are you looking at a print? It would appear darker in a print I think. Good choice!

Hair tends to look darker in black and white photographs, plus men in those days used liberal quantities of hair oil, which accentuated the darkening effect.

Of course, it is far from uncommon for hair and beards to be different colours - my father is dark blond, but his moustache is gingery.

Ann

Nicholas II's hair had a reddish tinge to it -- here's a clipping saved by his mother from when he was three years old:

I think you're right, Ann - without the Greasy Kid Stuff his hair would have appeared several shades lighter - probably closer to his beard if blown out in a modern manner.

I think all that "gloop" if you'll excuse the obviously fantastically placed term probably altered the shade drastically. Mr grandad had brownish hair but always worse heavy brylcream stuff which turned it jet black