A Bearded Man Wearing a Turban

A bearded man in a turban and outlandish costume looks out from a dark ground — one of the imaginary portraits, probably intended as philosophers, that Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo painted in response to the “fantasy” portraits by his father and teacher, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Giandomenico made etchings after his father’s series, published in 1774 as the Raccolta di teste, and used them as models for his own painted heads, of which this canvas is one. The heads continue a long European tradition represented by the costumed heads of Rembrandt, the philosopher portraits of Jusepe de Ribera, and the “exotic” eastern figures of Giovanni Battista Castiglione. The present canvas, with its dazzling and beautifully preserved brushwork, exemplifies the immediate and impressive effect of the series. The painting is held in the J. Paul Getty Museum.