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Five Grotesque Heads
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From an early age, Gaetano Gandolfi was admired for his drawings, many of which were created as independent works of art and avidly collected by Italian and British patrons. This drawing is one of Gandolfi’s so-called teste pittoriche, or pictorial heads. Devised by the artist in the 1770s, this genre is based on contemporary academic theories that proposed that human emotions could be scientifically classified by facial expressions.
| Artist / Maker | Gaetano Gandolfi |
|---|---|
| Date | 1750–1800 |
| Culture / Origin | Italy |
| Medium | pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash over black chalk |
| Dimensions | Sheet: 29.5 x 20.2 cm (11 5/8 x 7 15/16 in.) |
| Department | Drawings |
| Type | Drawing |
About the Artist
BiographyGaetano Gandolfi (1734–1802) — Italian painter and sculptor (1734–1802).Gaetano Gandolfi worked as painter and sculptor and is associated with Papal States. Their documented life spans the years 1734 to 1802, born in San Giovanni in Persiceto, died in Bologna.Disciplinespainter, sculptorBorn1734, San Giovanni in PersicetoDied1802, BolognaNationalityPapal StatesSources: Wikidata · Wikipedia Full biography →
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
Condition
A detailed condition report and high-resolution photography are available from our specialists in advance of the sale.
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