1712
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Bertoldino Cutting Off the Donkey's Ears is a 1712 ink by Giuseppe Maria Crespi, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a boy standing barefoot in a field, holding a donkey by the ear while it rears up. Another boy nearby is pointing and laughing, his mouth open wide. The donkey’s ears are being trimmed with scissors, and a branch with leaves hangs above them. The scene looks like a funny moment from a story, with the text below written in Italian. This kind of playful, exaggerated drawing was often used to tell tales in old books. If you like this style, look up etching to see how artists like Crespi made these detailed prints.
Giuseppe Maria Crespi (14 March 1665 – 16 July 1747), nicknamed Lo Spagnuolo ('The Spaniard'), was an Italian late Baroque painter of the Bolognese School.
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