A man in an oriental headdress

A man in an oriental headdress

Print

The primary focus of this etching is clearly the feathered headdress, which casts a shadow over the old man’s face. His downward cast eyes and the sketchy quality of the shading obscure the sitter’s face, stabilizing the costume as the central element of the print. As his head tilts forward, the turban is thrust slightly farther into the foreground than any other element in the work. The rounded shape of the man’s beard mimics the curved feathers and plump turban, exaggerating the full forms in the headdress. The emphasis on the Oriental turban is a flagrant depiction of the trope of the Orient, and exotic Otherness associated with the East.

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione

Royal Collection Trust

late 1640s

Public Domain

Part of the Series of Oriental Heads

Still Image

RCIN 830471.n

Etching

platemark 99 x 80 mm