Caricature of a Man in a Mask and a Tricorne, Standing in Profile to the Left
1760 (?)
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brown wash
Dimensions
7 5/16 x 4 in. (18.5 x 10.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.454
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the lively world of 18th-century Venetian art, Giovanni Battista Tiep's *Caricature of Man in a Mask and Tricorne, Standing Profile to the Left* the playful spirit of carnival culture. Created around 1760, this small drawing (just 7 5/16 x 4 inches) depicts a mysterious figure in profile, his face hidden behind an exaggerated mask and topped with the fashionable tricorne hat of the era. Tiep, a leading Rococo master renowned for his grand frescoes and theatrical compositions, often turned to caricature in his drawings, infusing them with wit and exaggeration to poke fun at human foibles. E...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo · 1696–1770
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) stands as the greatest decorative painter of eighteenth-century Europe, a Venetian master whose luminous frescoes and dynamic compositions defined the Rococo era's aesthetic zenith. Born in Venice on March 5, 1696, to a modest shipping merchant family, Tiepolo's extraordinary talent transcended his humble origins to establish him as the most sought-after artis...