Two Men in Oriental Costume

Two men stand huddled together. They wear stunning robes and headdresses made of sumptuous fabrics, both ‘oriental’ in style (from the Eastern Mediterranean). Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s lively outlines and visible brushstrokes emphasise the flamboyant sleeves and folds of the clothing. Hints of primary colours appear against more sombre tones, while the brilliant sunlight and subtle shade pick out the men’s expressive faces and textured beards. Tiepolo was immensely skilled at drawing faces, which is particularly noticeable here in the weathered complexion of the aged man closest to us.This is one of four panels that once decorated the Cornaro family’s villa in northern Italy. The shield lying at their feet could be a reference to another panel in same series, Rinaldo turning in Shame from the Magic Shield, which illustrates an episode in Jerusalem Delivered, a famous poem by Torquato Tasso.