The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 9, 2026

A marble sculpture depicts a man's head looking at us, broken at the neck. He has a high forehead, long nose, and large, blank eyes. Short curls frame his face beneath a draped hood. His thick mustache and long beard are heavily textured with deep, circular drill holes, and his mouth is slightly open. The off-white stone is marked with touches of gray and brown staining across the cheeks and within the curls.

Head of a Prophet

c. 1300–1325

workshop of Giovanni Pisano

(Italian, c. 1240-c. 1320)
Italy, Siena
marble
Overall: 31.8 x 18.6 x 13.4 cm (12 1/2 x 7 5/16 x 5 1/4 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1977.181
Location: 106B Romanesque & Gothic Sculpture

Description

This head exhibits many of the characteristics of the style associated with the workshop of Giovanni Pisano. These are particularly noteworthy in the sensitive carving of the haunting face and its strikingly drilled beard. The head compares favorably to the sculpture made while Giovanni was master of works at Siena Cathedral (1285-97). Recent research suggests that it may once have belonged to a full-length Old Testament prophet looming on the exterior of Siena Cathedral.
  • Royal Würtemberg Collections, said to have been given by King William I (1816-1864) to Würtembergisches Landesmuseum, Stuttgart; Mertz Bank of Hamburg; Dr. Salb, Hamburg; private collection; (Heim Gallery, London).
  • Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 26, 2006-February 19, 2007).
    Metropolitan Museum of Art (9/26/2006 - 2/19/2007): "Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture"
  • {{cite web|title=Head of a Prophet|url=false|author=Giovanni Pisano|year=c. 1300–1325|access-date=09 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.181