Caricature of a Man in a Long Cloak, Standing in Profile to the Left

"Caricature of a Man in a Long Cloak, Standing in Profile to the Left," by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, is a striking example of 18th-century Venetian graphic work, likely created between 1755 and 1765. Classified as a drawing, this piece utilizes the expressive combination of pen and black ink, expertly highlighted by a subtle gray wash. Tiepolo employed this medium to capture the exaggerated, almost sculptural forms of his subject with remarkable efficiency.

The subject, depicted in a strict profile pose common in these satirical studies, is primarily defined by the voluminous expanse of his long, dark cloak. This heavy garment dominates the composition, emphasizing the man’s isolated silhouette against the stark white of the paper. Such observational and often witty profiles were a common private artistic exercise for the great Venetian masters, serving as an opportunity for visual wit and swift execution. Tiepolo’s masterful technique uses swift, decisive contours to define the figure, while the application of gray wash provides depth and shadows, giving the caricature a three-dimensional immediacy. These sharp, observational drawings contrast sharply with the idealized figures found in Tiepolo’s grand fresco commissions of the same era.

This expressive drawing, which focuses intently on the specific details of 18th-century male attire and posture, resides within the extensive holdings of European drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. High-quality reproductions of Tiepolo's original drawings, including fine art prints, are widely accessible to researchers and enthusiasts due to the artwork’s eventual entry into the public domain, allowing for close study of the artist’s unique approach to the human form.