Father Pepe Preaching to Sailors

1694·Pen and brown ink, over traces of black chalk, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper and edge-mounted on pale blue-green laid paper·48 × 38 cm (18 15/16 × 15 in.)

Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection

Catalogue

Year: 1694
Medium: Pen and brown ink, over traces of black chalk, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper and edge-mounted on pale blue-green laid paper
Dimensions: 48 × 38 cm (18 15/16 × 15 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Pier Leone Ghezzi

Artist

Pier Leone Ghezzi

Drawing

Pier Leone Ghezzi was an Italian Rococo painter, draughtsman, printmaker and caricaturist who was mainly active in Rome. While he painted decorative frescoes and created a new type of anecdotal and realistic history painting, he is now mainly known for his caricatures of famous people of his time. He has been described as the first professional caricaturist. In his countless portrait drawings, he was able to capture the essence of the sitter with only a few strokes. He regularly portrayed a single figure with exaggerated anatomy and various eccentricities of clothing and posture. In group portraits he created a humoristic effect by repeating a strange stance or expression.

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