A Philosopher with a Book

c. 1754-1757

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Lorenzo (Baldissera) Tiepolo and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

A Philosopher with a Book

Artist: Lorenzo (Baldissera) Tiepolo
Artist: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

A Philosopher with a Book

c. 1754-1757

Physical Qualities Oil on canvas, 24 1/8 x 20 1/16 in. (61.3 x 51 cm.)

Credit Line The Jacob Epstein Collection

Object Number 1951.117

The elaborate headdress worn by this bearded sage identifies him as one of twenty philosophers painted by the eighteenth-century Venetian master Giovanni Batista Tiepolo and copied here by his son Lorenzo. While others in the series are identified as the Greek thinkers Diogenes and Pythagoras, the subject here remains unknown. Perhaps the medal he wears on his chest contains a clue to his identity. The conservation of the frame for this painting was made possible by a grant from The Richard C. von Hess Foundation.

The Baltimore Museum of Art on deposit; The Baltimore Museum of Art on extended loan, 1932-1951; the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, by bequest, 1945; Jacob Epstein, purchased in the sale at the Galerie Fievez, Brussels, May 26, 1930, lot 94, pl. 34; Collection of Monsieur L.S.