Head of St Anne 1696 - 1770

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo made this drawing, Head of St. Anne, using red chalk on paper. Tiepolo was working in the 1700s, during the late Baroque and Rococo periods, a time of great social and political change in Europe, when the aristocracy and the church were major art patrons. Here, St. Anne gazes upwards, her face a study in devotion. In the Catholic tradition, Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary, a lineage of women central to the Christian faith. Tiepolo, deeply embedded in this tradition, captures Anne not as a mere figure, but as a wellspring of faith. The choice of red chalk gives the work a warmth, an intimacy that invites us into her spiritual world. In the context of his time, Tiepolo’s representation of St. Anne speaks to the period's emphasis on religious piety, yet it also hints at the emerging value placed on the individual’s emotional experience of faith. We can see the intense personal connection between St. Anne and the divine, reminding us of the power and solace found in faith.