George Gissing

William Rothenstein

Pencil on paper

1912

Photographically reproduced from a lithograph as a frontispiece to Swinnerton's critical study. of Gissing.

"Tall, spare, and lissom of movement," Gissing had "Thick, brown hair clustered round a brow of noble shape; his head was well shaped. Though his cheeks lacked colour he looked healthy, strong and vigorous. His facial expression was extraordinarily mobile, sensitive, and intellectual...." [Commentary continues below]

George Gissing

Image and text added by Jacqueline Banerjee

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and University of Toronto and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. ]

"In repose his features contracted into a look of ineffable dreariness, sorrow and affliction, of mute submissiveness and despair. Yet it was a noble face, dignified, delicate, sensuous, thoughtful. And then it would flash and light up, and the eyes would beam in radiant transport, and the misanthrope would become a tempestuous schoolboy, and he would thump the table and positively shout with buoyant exuberance" (qtd. in Swinnerton 25).

Bibliography

Swinnerton, Frank. George Gissing: A Critical Study. London: Secker, 1912. Internet Archive. Contributed by Robarts Library, University of Toronto. Web. 22 January 2022.

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Created 23 January 2022