This head of a man, carved in marble, with a loose cloak covering the back of his head, may depict an ancient philosopher, or possibly a prophet or an apostle. The marble surface has been finished differently. The flesh areas are smooth and polished, while the drapey has a rougher surface, with a lined pattern produced by a fine claw chisel.
This bust along with similar other ones held in private and public collections (such as Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum no. 1970.492) were traditionally attributed to the 18th century Venetian sculptor Orazio Marinali and were thought to have come from a lost cycle executed for villas in the region of Vicenza. More recently, the name of Giuseppe Torretti has been suggested (Simone Guerrieri 2016) as the author of this series of busts.
Giuseppe Torretti (1664-1743) was a sculptor active in Venice. He first trained as an intaglio sculptor and started producing sculptures in wood and in marble in the early 1700s. He produced statues for several churches in Venice, including San Giorgio Maggiore and Santa Maria dei Carmini, but also in the cathedral of Udine. He was largely supported by commissions from his main patrons, the venetian Manin family, but also received commissions from other collectors. He produced for example statues mythological statues for Peter the Great, two of which still at the Ermitage, Saint Petersburg.