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Infanta Esau
Pen and ink, 10.75 x 7.75 inches, 2003
Hairy children were - and are - a great attraction. While the current
fashion is to describe such individuals as "wolf boys" or "wolf girls",
the Victorian era preferred a biblical allusion to hirsute Esau, son
of Abraham and twin brother of smooth-faced Jacob. Showmen such as P.T.
Barnum took their cue from the passage describing the twins' birth:
And the first came out red, all over like an
hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
(Genesis 25:25)
Those were (at least outwardly) more religious times, so hairy children,
regardless of sex, were frequently advertised as "The Infant Esau."
One such child was the young Annie Jones (who as a fully blossomed bearded
woman is featured as the Pre-Raphaelite subject of another of my drawings,
Ritratto
di Annie Jones).
In this portrait, Annie poses as a wee Spanish princess after a painting
by Velazquez.
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All Images and Text © James G. Mundie 2003
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