ticketsMember | Make a donation

An Old Man with a Dog

1740s
Not on view
An aging man holds his pug up to his face, much as we might pose for a photograph with a favorite pet. Ceruti’s penchant for depicting people in society’s margins earned him the nickname of “Pitochetto” (little beggar). Then, upon moving to Venice in 1736, he encountered the pan-European fascination with foreign dress that seems to be alluded to here in the acorn-shaped buttons on his coat. While eliminating much of the grit found in his earlier subjects, he nonetheless reliably recorded the expressive and sentimental particulars of individual faces. Ceruti adds an artistic flourish by inscribing the swirls of the man’s beard with the wet paint on the handle end of his brush.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: An Old Man with a Dog
  • Artist: Giacomo Ceruti (Italian, Milan 1698–1767 Milan)
  • Date: 1740s
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 25 9/16 × 17 11/16 in. (65 × 45 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Fabrizio Moretti, in honor of Keith Christiansen, and in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.263
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
A Woman Spinning (recto); A Woman Holding a Bundle (verso), Giacomo Ceruti Italian, Pen and brown ink
A Woman Spinning (recto); A Woman Holding a Bundle (verso)
Giacomo Ceruti
18th century
A Woman with a Dog, Giacomo Ceruti Italian, Oil on canvas
A Woman with a Dog
Giacomo Ceruti
1740s
The Capture of Carthage, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian, Oil on canvas
The Capture of Carthage
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
1725–29
Piazza San Marco, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Italian, Oil on canvas
Piazza San Marco
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
late 1720s
The Glorification of the Barbaro Family, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian, Oil on canvas
The Glorification of the Barbaro Family
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
ca. 1750

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.