Bring your favorites together in your free personal gallery.
Your galleryHead of a Philosopher
Look first
- What catches your attention?
- Where does your eye go next?
- What would you ask about this work?
Show me
Look at the loaded white strokes of the beard and turban, then at the jeweled clasp at his chest and the frown beneath the gold headband.
Giandomenico Tiepolo worked as assistant to his father, Giambattista, on his biggest commissions, among them the paintings for Madrid’s Royal Palace. This imaginary philosopher belongs to a group of heads he painted in answer to a similar series by his father from 1757 and 1758. His brushwork is quicker and lighter than his father’s, and it marks a clear break with the older painter’s style.
Oil on canvas · 60.5 × 45.8 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · Rococo
Look again
What do you notice now?
Try a quick sketch
Take a minute to sketch on any paper. No upload needed.
What did you draw first? What did you leave out?
Details and source
- Museum title
- Head of a Philosopher
- Artist
- Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (Italian, 1727–1804)
- Date
- 1758–64
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 60.5 × 45.8 cm (23 3/4 × 18 in.)
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Richard E. Danielson and Mrs. Chauncey McCormick
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Art Institute of Chicago
Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.