Head of an Old Man

Undated and now in the Nationalmuseum Stockholm, 'Head of an Old Man' represents one of the less commonly associated subjects for Rosalba Carriera — older male faces rather than young women or aristocrats. The work belongs to a tradition of character-head studies that had flourished since the seventeenth century, exploring the expressive possibilities of age, wrinkled skin, and lived experience. For Carriera, whose reputation rested primarily on the rendering of youthful femininity, a work of this kind demonstrates the range of her observation. Old age was technically demanding in pastel: the irregular surface of wrinkled skin required a more broken, varied stroke than the smooth blending she deployed for younger subjects. The Nationalmuseum's holding of this work alongside others by Carriera reflects the breadth of her production beyond the canonical society portraits.

Old skin presents different pastel challenges than young: the artist must use more broken, varied strokes to describe the irregular surface of wrinkles and hollows, abandoning the smooth blending that characterises her female portraits. Shadows are deeper and more pronounced, and the overall palette tends toward cooler, earthier tones than the warm pinks of youthful complexions.