Standing Man in a Full Coat and High Hat with a Medaillon
1696–1770
Medium
Pen and dark brown ink, brush and brown wash
Dimensions
9-3/8 x 5-7/8 in. (23.8 x 14.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971
Accession Number
1972.118.274
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (6–1770), one of Venice's greatest Rococo masters, captured the elegance of 18th-century fashion in this lively drawing, *Standing Man in a Full and High Hat with aaillon*. Created with pen and dark brown inkented by brush and brown, the intimate sheet measures just 9-3/8 x 5-7/8 inches, showcasing Tiepolo's skill in rapid, expressive figure studies. The dapper gentleman stands confidently in a voluminous coat and tall hat, a medallion gleaming at his chest—likely a preparatory sketch for one of Tiepolo's grand frescoes or theatrical scenes. Tiepolo's technique here ...
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...