Geestelijke met kaal hoofd in kazuifel 1757 - 1774

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo made this print of a bald cleric in a chasuble sometime in the late 18th century. In it, we see how the institutions of the church shaped the lives of individuals. Tiepolo was working in Venice, a city at the heart of the Catholic world, and his image reflects the prominence and power of the priesthood. The subject’s vestments denote his place within the religious hierarchy. His bald head, a tonsure, was a traditional practice, symbolizing renunciation of worldly fashion. Tiepolo has used the graphic techniques of hatching and cross-hatching to give the figure a three-dimensional quality. He has captured the details of the man’s face and the texture of his beard with a close attention. It is an intimate portrayal, hinting at the humanity of the men behind the institution. To understand an image like this, the art historian will look to archives, religious documents, and visual records of the time. Through them, we can further understand the social and institutional context of the art.