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Source Description
From an early age, Gaetano Gandolfi was admired for his drawings, many of which were created as independent works of art and avidly collected by Italian and British patrons. This drawing is one of Gandolfi’s so-called teste pittoriche, or pictorial heads. Devised by the artist in the 1770s, this genre is based on contemporary academic theories that proposed that human emotions could be scientifically classified by facial expressions.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
144649
label
Five Grotesque Heads
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
144649
contentType
drawing
title
Five Grotesque Heads
description
From an early age, Gaetano Gandolfi was admired for his drawings, many of which were created as independent works of art and avidly collected by Italian and British patrons. This drawing is one of Gandolfi’s so-called teste pittoriche, or pictorial heads. Devised by the artist in the 1770s, this genre is based on contemporary academic theories that proposed that human emotions could be scientifically classified by facial expressions.
date
1750–1800
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79922101
creators
11949
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 29.5 x 20.2 cm (11 5/8 x 7 15/16 in.)
cul
Italy, 18th century
accession
1969.277
Source extras
tec
pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash over black chalk
tombstone
Five Grotesque Heads, 1750–1800. Gaetano Gandolfi (Italian, 1734–1802). Pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash over black chalk; sheet: 29.5 x 20.2 cm (11 5/8 x 7 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Frederick M. Mayer, 1969.277
supportMaterials
description
cream(3) laid paper
collection
DR - Italian
inscriptions
inscription
verso, upper left, in graphite: [9?]
inscription
lower left, in graphite: 91127
inscription
lower right, in graphite(?): 6 -
didYouKnow
The term "grotesque" derives from the Italian word "grotteschi," which refers to the grottoes found in ancient Roman houses that were rediscovered around 1500.
creditline
Gift of Frederick M. Mayer
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:25:53.828000
sourceId
144649
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - Italian
med
pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash over black chalk
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
06b1e5bcd2e81ea6