Skip to main content

Giacomo Francesco Cipper, 'Head of a Man in Red', early 18th century

About the work

This characterful portrait is a pair to Head of a Man in Blue, also in our collection.

A man looks out, his eyes sparkling and head slightly cocked. His mouth is open, as if he is speaking, and he has crooked and missing teeth. A cheerful demeanour animates his face, as do the wisps of hair poking out from under his hat and the upturned tufts of his moustache.

The style and subject of this picture are typical of Giacomo Francesco Cipper, an artist who specialised in low-life scenes. The man here is evidently poor – the sleeve of his red jacket is coming away at the seam, and the cloth has been roughly stitched along his shoulder – but the artist’s portrayal is very sympathetic. The paint has been quickly and loosely applied without blending the daubs of colour, giving this work (and its pair) a ‘blotchy’ – almost impressionistic – appearance and sense of immediacy.

Key facts

Full title
Head of a Man in Red
Artist
Giacomo Francesco Cipper
Artist dates
1664 - 1736
Part of the series
Two Expressive Heads
Date made
early 18th century
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
46.1 × 35.9 cm
Acquisition credit
Bequeathed by Maurice Woolff Jacobson, 1944
Inventory number
NG5469
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

About the series: Two Expressive Heads

Giacomo Francesco Cipper, 'Head of a Man in Blue', early 18th century

These two paintings, which are of similar subjects and identical in size, were almost certainly intended as pendants, or companion pieces, to be hung together. The men portrayed here are evidently poor – their ragged clothing is roughly stitched together, one suffers from a swollen goitre on his neck and the other has missing teeth – but the artist’s portrayal is entirely sympathetic. These men are full of character, their expressions lively and engaging. The loose, animated brushwork adds to their sense of immediacy.

The style and subject of these paintings are typical of Giacomo Francesco Cipper, who specialised in painting low-life scenes of beggars, street-sellers and vagabonds in Milan – a genre in which another painter working in Lombardy, Giacomo Ceruti (1697–1767), later excelled.

Head of a Man in Blue
Head of a Man in Blue
Giacomo Francesco Cipper
A man looks out at us with his shirt opened to reveal his neck, disfigured by a goitre (a swelling caused by an enlarged thyroid gland). Despite suffering this medical condition, he has an amused expression and the artist has portrayed him sympathetically. He is evidently poor, as can be seen by...
Not on display
Head of a Man in Red
Head of a Man in Red
Giacomo Francesco Cipper
This characterful portrait is a pair to Head of a Man in Blue, also in our collection.A man looks out, his eyes sparkling and head slightly cocked. His mouth is open, as if he is speaking, and he has crooked and missing teeth. A cheerful demeanour animates his face, as do the wisps of hair poking...
Not on display