Head of a Man

early 1620s

Jusepe de Ribera

Associated Names
Jusepe de Ribera

Artist, Spanish, 1591 - 1652

The image shows a drawing of a person's head in profile, capturing only the head and neck area. The person is positioned facing left with their gaze directed upward. Their facial features are strongly defined, with a prominent nose and an intense furrowed brow. The hair is drawn in a manner suggesting the person is wearing a cap or some covering over their head. The drawing is rendered in red chalk on a lightly textured background. There are no noticeable jewelry or objects held by the person in this artwork, and the background is plain.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    red chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    image: 24 × 17.5 cm (9 7/16 × 6 7/8 in.)
    mount: 30.5 × 24.4 cm (12 × 9 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1984.41.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Finaldi 2016, no. 11

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, Christies, London 3 April 1984); acquired by National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1986

  • Graphics Survey Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., April 1986.

2017

  • Between Heaven and Hell: The Drawings of Jusepe de RIbera, Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, 2017.

2018

  • Sense of Humor: Caricature, Satire, and the Comical in Prints and Drawings from Leonardo to the Present, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2018 - 2019, no cat.

Bibliography

1995

  • Finaldi, Gabriele. "Aspects of the life and work of Jusepe de Ribera, 1591-1652." PhD. diss., The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 1995, no. 151.

2005

  • Finaldi, Gabriele. "Dibujos inéditos y otros poco conocidos de Jusepe de Ribera."Boletin del Museo del Prado 23, no. 41 (2005): 24-44.

2016

  • Finaldi, Gabriele, et al.Jusepe de Ribera: The Drawings, Catalogue raisonné. Madrid, 2016, no. 11.

Inscriptions

recto: on faded blue paper mount, in later hand, across bottom in graphite: G. Ribera.(Sketch by "Spagnoletto"; on mount, in later hand, at bottom left in graphite: 47/294 G Ribera (le Spagnoletto); on mount, in later hand, at bottom right in graphite: 41; verso: on mount, in later hand, written along lower right edge in graphite: Sotheby Sale April 3-14

Markings

none

Watermarks

partial fleur de lis on laid backing sheet

Wikidata ID

Q64591742

You may be interested in

Loading Results