Caricature of a Man Carrying a Stick, Standing in Profile to the Left 1755 - 1765

Curator: Immediately, what strikes me is a certain vulnerability. He's pompous, no doubt, with that enormous nose, but there’s also a slight awkwardness in his stance. Editor: Absolutely. Let’s take a look at this ink drawing. This is "Caricature of a Man Carrying a Stick, Standing in Profile to the Left" by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, dating back to the 1750s or 60s, currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum. Curator: Tiepolo really knew how to skewer the upper crust, didn't he? That profile is exaggerated, almost grotesque. The cane seems more like a prop than a support. It's performance, pure and simple. Editor: Indeed. Caricatures, by their nature, play with identity and representation. This man becomes a symbol, representing, perhaps, the foibles and pretensions of the 18th-century aristocracy. The oversized nose becomes a key identifier. Curator: I wonder what his story is. What insecurities he hides behind all that finery. The tight breeches, the powdered wig… it’s all such a fragile facade. I bet he’s desperately insecure. Editor: I’d suggest that elements like the wig, and even the walking stick, would be markers of status and power during that era, almost functioning as signs or visual cues recognized in society. Curator: He’s just… precarious, like a top-heavy doll about to topple over. Maybe Tiepolo saw that vulnerability, and captured it. Editor: Or he captured the absurdity. Caricature thrives on hyperbole, but the exaggeration serves to illuminate underlying truths or accepted stereotypes. I'm also fascinated by the seeming immediacy of this work. You feel you can actually see the lines as Tiepolo laid them down on the paper. Curator: Perhaps in truth both: absurdity and hidden insecurity, forever caught mid-step by Tiepolo's sharp, knowing eye. A silent story, brilliantly told in a few confident lines. Editor: The symbols in the man’s image serve almost like preserved gestures, revealing insights into both subject and culture through a brief, powerful snapshot.