A man (George Dixon Longstaff?) wearing academic robes and holding a skull. Oil painting by Carl Schmid (?), 1835.

The painting was traditionally identified as "Professor Carl Schmid", but this could have been an identification not of the sitter but of the painter: if so, the most likely candidate would be Carl Friedrich Ludwig Schmid, who worked in Aachen, London and elsewhere

Prof. Laurence Garey suggested that this could be a portrait of George Dixon Longstaff, physician and chemist, citing the fact that his portrait was painted by Carl Schmid in 1835

On the depiction of the skull, Prof. L. Garey wrote in an e-mail to the Wellcome Library, 8 October 2002: "The vault of the skull is too voluminous ... It might be artistic licence. However, it looks as if the skull might have been buried for a long time. It has various furrows and wrinkles that might suggest it is a bit "worm eaten". The nose is fragmented. There are not many teeth, although the nicely pointed chin suggests it is not an old person. The overall heavy features suggest it is male. The anatomical detail is good (note the infraorbital canals, just below the orbits on each side, are different on left and right), suggesting that it is a faithful reproduction of the original skeleton. So, a youngish man, who has been dead a long time. Maybe exhumed?"

[1835]

1 painting : oil on canvas ; canvas 118.6 x 89 cm

Wellcome Collection 45935i