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Head of a Bishop

ca. 1770
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 639
In addition to altarpieces, ceiling decorations, and canvases with mythological subjects, Gandolfi painted bust-length images of men and women from various walks of life. Unlike formal portraits for paying clients, these character studies allowed the artist to explore diverse emotions, expressions, and facial types. This example’s exceptionally pristine condition preserves Gandolfi’s lively brushwork, which is particularly evident in the bishop’s beard and collar.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of a Bishop
  • Artist: Gaetano Gandolfi (Italian, San Matteo della Decima 1734–1802 Bologna)
  • Date: ca. 1770
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 18 3/8 x 14 7/8 in. (46.7 x 37.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Charles and Jessie Price and Stephen Mazoh Gifts, 2010
  • Object Number: 2010.117
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Three Female Heads, Gaetano Gandolfi Italian, Pen and brown ink
Three Female Heads
Gaetano Gandolfi
1734–1802
Child Bacchus on a Barrel
Gaetano Gandolfi
1750–1802
The Christ Child sleeping on a cross in a landscape, crown of thorns in the foreground, after Reni, Gaetano Gandolfi Italian, Engraving
The Christ Child sleeping on a cross in a landscape, crown of thorns in the foreground, after Reni
Gaetano Gandolfi
Guido Reni
1765–80
The Adoration of the Shepherds, with God the Father overhead, Gaetano Gandolfi Italian, Engraving
The Adoration of the Shepherds, with God the Father overhead
Gaetano Gandolfi
Niccolò dell' Abate
1754–1802
The Shepherd's Offering: Seventy-three prints engraved by F. Bartolozzi &c. from the Original Pictures and Drawings of Michaelangelo, Domenichino, Annibal, Lodovico, and Agostino Carraci, Guercino, P. da Cortona, Carlo Maratti, Elisabetta Sirani, Pellegrino Tibaldi, Franceschino &c. in the collection of His Majesty, &c., vol. II
Multiple artists/makers
1793–98

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