Head of an Old Man

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Head of an Old Man

Artist Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (Italian, 1727-1804)

Dateabout 1757-1775

DimensionsPainting: 18 5/8 × 16 in. (47.3 × 40.6 cm)
Frame: 24 1/2 × 22 1/4 × 2 in. (62.2 × 56.5 × 5.1 cm)

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1926.51

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 26, Rotunda

Label TextAfter 1750, the artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo made a series of paintings and drawings of heads that have been characterized as “Philosopher Portraits.” These heads were later etched for wider distribution by Tiepolo’s son, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, the artist who painted Toledo’s Head of an Old Man. In fact, Domenico painted at least 10 canvases after the etchings he made of his father’s work, though distinguished by the larger scale of the head and the omission of details such as hands and accessories. This portrait does not depict a specific person, but rather an imaginary philosopher from the East. The intense gaze of the old man, expressive application of paint, and strong contrasts of light and dark combine to create an intriguing, exotic image of a man of intellect.Published ReferencesGodwin, Blake-More, Catalogue of European Paintings, Toledo, 1939, p. 18, repr. p. 19.

Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, no. 97, March 1942, pp. 3-5, repr. on cover.

Grosser, Maurice, Critic's Eye, Indianapolis, 1962, p. 168.

Morassi, A., A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings of G.B. Tiepolo, London, 1962, p. 50.

Fredericksen, B., and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Collections, Cambridge (MA), 1972, p. 198 (as Bust of an Old Oriental).

Knox, G., "Philosopher Portraits' by Giambattista, Domenico and Lorenzo Tiepolo," Burlington Magazine, CXVII, Mar. 1975, p. 148, no. 4.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 158, pl. 38.

Exhibition HistoryChicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings, Drawings and Prints by the Two Tiepolos: Giambattista and Giandomenico, 1938, no. 17 (as G.B. Tiepolo).

Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, Four Centuries of Venetian Painting, 1940, no. 52, repr. (cat. by H. Tietze; as G.B. Tiepolo).

New York, Wildenstein Galleries, Fashion in Headdress Through Four Centuries, 1943, no. 46.

Denver, Denver Art Museum, Portraiture Through the Ages, 1950.

Worcester, Worcester Art Museum (MA), Condition: Excellent, 1951, no. 26, repr. (det.).

Art Gallery of Hamilton, Canada, Old Masters, an Exhibition of European Paintings from the Sixteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries from North American Collections, 1958, no. 29, repr.

Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1959.

Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, Painting in Italy in the Eighteenth Century, 1971 (Toledo only.).

London (ON), Regional Art Gallery, The Seven Ages of Man, 1980, p. 108, repr.