Head of an Old Man with a Beard

The painting is of the type of representation popular in the 18th century—the so-called teste di carattere or teste di fantasia (fictitious figures, shown bust-length or waist-length, usually in a fanciful costume; cf. cat. nos. 79 and 81). Eighteenth-century Venetian teste were painted under the influence of this type of Dutch and Flemish work—above all, the tronies of Rembrandt … . The ‘Rembrantesque’ trend was strongly present in Venetian art of the 18th century—not only in terms of the themes, but also in the technique (brushwork, colour palette, lighting) an example of which we can see in the Łazienki painting. It may be inspired by Rembrandt’s representations of bearded old men, shown in a moment of contemplation, with a slightly bowed head and eyes looking downwards, from c. 1630 … . [D. Juszczak, H. Małachowicz, The Stanisław August Collection of Paintings at the Royal Łazienki. Catalogue, Royal Łazienki Museum, Warsaw 2016, no. 80, p. 303.]