Head of a Bearded Man
Giovanni Serodine
1600–1630 · Watercolor, highlighted with white gouache, over black chalk · Drawings and Prints
Here, the artist focused on the humble man's quiet dignity of character with a portrait-like precision. This monumental study in color is also striking for the immediacy of its brushwork, revealing Serodine's artistic roots in the naturalistic tradition of the region of Lombardy, in northwestern Italy. The present study is apparently the only work on paper by Giovanni Serodine, who was among the innovative Italian Baroque painters of religious genre scenes. Born in Rome of Lombard parents, Serodine was much influenced by Caravaggio (1571-1610), the brilliant master who also hailed from Lombardy, and who especially inspired a generation of painters working in Rome between 1610 and 1630.
- Artist
- Giovanni Serodine
- Date
- 1600–1630
- Medium
- Watercolor, highlighted with white gouache, over black chalk
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Credit line
- Purchase, Gifts of Emmanuel Moatti, Anne K. and E. Powis Jones, and Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, 2000
