Antonio Mancini’s Lost in Thought is one of no fewer than fifteen works by this artist owned by the museum.
Mesdag and Mancini had an unusual agreement.
From 1885 onwards, Mesdag regularly sent money to the Italian artist in Rome, who in return sent him paintings and drawings, around 150 works in all.
Mesdag kept some for himself, but sold the bulk on to others.
In this painting Mancini worked with broad strokes and a loaded brush, rendering the shimmering silk skirt with great verve.
The girl’s face is much more delicately painted, whereby her contemplative expression gains in intensity. | Source: © The Mesdag Collection, The Hague
