An important recent addition to the oeuvre of Giandomenico Tiepolo (1727–1804), this striking and vividly coloured head of a bearded man forms part of a set of three paintings that were discovered in a private collection, each one inscribed with the name of a Greek philosopher. The present painting is identified as Socrates, while the others are inscribed with the names of Demosthenes and Aristotle (figs. 1 and 2). Giandomenico Tiepolo, a leading Rococo artist who was famed for his depictions of Venetian society, was also renowned – along with his father, Giambattista Tiepolo, for his head studies, or teste di fantasia, in which the artist created imagined portraits or representations of famous philosophers, characters or exotic figures. This head study forms part of a wider group of such works created by Tiepolo father and son. The present painting is a compelling example of this genre, and demonstrates the artist’s masterful and energetic brushstrokes, giving the subject a characteristic vitality and richness.



The three paintings of philosophers are of comparable formats and dimensions, and were likely intended for the viewer's entertainment, prompting reflection on these great men of ancient times. The Socrates in this picture is an impressive yet mysterious figure, his eyes almost lost in shadow below his furrowed brow, and his pursed lips perhaps indicating the intensity of his thought. Costumed in a dazzling green and red robe with a golden clasp, and wearing a striking white turban, his presence is magnificent, yet shrouded in intrigue. With his gaze cast downwards, the philosopher appears somewhat detached from the viewer, adding to his enigmatic persona.



The date and precise circumstances of the creation of the present work is unclear, but it seems probable that some comparable heads originated as part of a specific commission from Giambattista of around 1757, before both father and son left Venice to work in Würzburg.1 Giandomenico went on to use his father’s compositions both as the basis for a series of engravings, the Raccolta di Teste, published in 1774, after his father’s death, and as inspiration for his own paintings. Many of Giandomenico’s painted heads of bearded men relate to the compositions represented in the Raccolta series, and the present canvas is no exception, most closely comparing to Testa I.5 (an example is in the collection of the British Museum, fig. 3). Another painted version of this head is recorded in the Federico Zeri Fototeca, Università di Bologna, no. 66570 (fig. 4).

1. G. Knox, Domenico Tiepolo: Raccolta di teste, Udine 1970.

Fig. 1: Giandomenico Tiepolo, Head of a bearded man in a blue and yellow collared robe (Private Collection).

Fig. 2: Giandomenico Tiepolo, Head of a bearded man in a yellow robe and a blue cap, wearing a gold chain (Private Collection).

Fig. 3: Giandomenico Tiepolo, after Giambattista Tiepolo, Head of an old bearded man wearing a turban-like headdress and a medallion, 1771-1800, etching. British Library, Department of Prints and Drawings inv. no. 1907,0515.84.106.

Fig. 4: Photograph of Giandomenico Tiepolo, Head of a man in oriental dress. Fototeca Zeri, inv. no. 66570.