Head of a Man in a Skull Cap

Antonio Piccinni 1846 - 1920

Summary

Head and shoulders portrait of an elderly man with short cropped hair and wearing a close fitting cap. The subject is facing the viewer with his eyes focused to the left. There is no background detail. This etching was one of a collection formed by print expert PG Hamerton (1834-94) for the Manchester Art Museum, an educational gallery which opened in 1886 in the industrial suburb of Ancoats. The collection was transferred to the City Art Gallery in 1912, the Art Museum maintaining that they did not have enough space to display it. On acquisition, the prints were displayed together, with a catalogue of the pithy comments on each print that Hamerton had made in 1882. For this work, he had noted, 'I like this, as etching, much better than "The Miser." [accession number 1912.50.195] The work of the point is sound and simple, and the expression is well rendered.'