Date : between 1758 and 1764
Material : Oil on canvas
| Item 21 on 21
European Painting
Painting (Portrait)
Area related
Italy
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| Description |  |
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Trained by his father, Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770), Domenico collaborated with him on his greatest projects, in the Würzburg Episcopal Palace and the Royal Palace in Madrid. After his father's death, Domenico emerged as an original artist, particularly adept in depicting popular activities and amusements in a humorous manner. In his maturity, he was renowned for painting characters from the traditional Italian theater, the "Commedia dell'arte", such as Punchinello, as well as witty portrayals of animals, especially dogs.
In mid-career, Domenico painted a group of heads of philosophers and wise old men, including the Art institute's "philosopher». These are translations into paint of some of Domenico's sixty etchings of such heads, often based on a series of elderly figures painted by his father. The one echoed by this painting is at Bob Jones University, (Greenville, SC).
The over - all dimensions of the series of philosophers by father and son are identical, but Domenico eliminated the peripheral portions of Giambattista's compositions and increased the size of his heads. His use of a more impressionistic manner signaled the beginning of his emancipation from the influence of his father.
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