Head of a Franciscan monk, oil on canvas, 40 x 28.5 cm, framed

We are grateful to Professor Donatella Biagi Maino for confirming the attribution of the present painting following inspection of the original and for proposing a date of execution around 1764/65.

Biagi Maino has suggested that the present composition of the monk may be a study from real life, however a clear identification is difficult due to the lack of iconographic attributes.

The pose and facial type of the present figure resemble other figurative types in larger compositions by Gaetano, as seen for example in Saint Joseph in the altarpiece The Sacred Family and a Bishop in Bologna (private collection, 152 x 230 cm), dated 1761 (see D. Biagi Maino, Gaetano Gandolfi, Turin 1995, fig. 9, no. 7). The present painting is also comparable to the Penitent Saint Peter (43 x 37.3 cm, private collection, see Biagi Maino, op. cit., fig. 12, no. 8) from the early 1760s and to the Saint Dominic (30 x 37 cm, present whereabouts unknown, see Biagi Maino, op. cit., no. 11, fig. 10), dated to circa 1763.

The present composition is characterized by large brushstrokes and the strong contrast between bright tones, such as those of the luminous white beard and the lightened face, and the dark tones of the background, the tunic, and the cowl, which is typical of Gaetano’s oeuvre.