Head of a Magician

c. 1760

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Associated Names
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Artist, Venetian, 1696 - 1770

The image depicts a sketch of a person in profile view, showcasing the head and a portion of the neck. The person has distinct facial characteristics, including a notable nose and furrowed brow. The lower face features a textured beard and mustache. The sketch shows a form resembling a cloth or headpiece covering the head. There is a suggestion of draped fabric that might be a collar or scarf. The sketch is created in a monochromatic palette with ink or sepia tones on a textured paper surface. The background is plain, with no visible objects or jewelry in the image.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with brown wash over black chalk on laid paper (still mounted on original Tiepolo album page)

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mrs. Christian Aall

  • Dimensions

    overall: 24.6 x 19.6 cm (9 11/16 x 7 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1998.110.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Library of the Convent of the Padri Somaschi, Venice, late 18th century; Conte Leopoldo Cicognara, Venice; Antonio Canova, [1757 - 1822]; Francesco Pesaro, Venice; Edward Cheney, 1842 - 1885; by descent to Alfred Capel Cure; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 29 April 1885, part of lot 1024); (E. Parsons and Sons, London [d. 1935]); (P. & D. Colnaghi, London); Richard Owen, Paris, until his death in 1951; (P. & D. Colnaghi, London, 1952); Private Collection, 1952-1983; (sale, Christie's, London, 29 November 1983, no. 51); (Mr. Richard Day, 1983); Mrs. Christian H. Aall, New York, 1983-1998; (Cecily Langdale, New York, 1998); gift to NGA, 1998.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2012

  • The Baroque Genius of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., 2012

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 74.

Wikidata ID

Q64572380

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