Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

Sale, London, Sotheby's, 6-7 July 1920, lot 41, (purchased by Colnaghi for £610);
With P. & D. Colnaghi, London (purchased by Richard Owen for £800)
Paris, Richard Owen;
Duc de Talleyrand, Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt;
The British Rail Pension Fund;
from which purchased by the present owner 

Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 1921;
A. Gealt and M.E. Vetrocq, Domenico Tiepolo's Punchinello Drawings, exhib. cat., Bloomington, Indiana University Art Museum, Stanford University Art Museum, and New York, Frick Collection, 1979-80, p. 44-5, no. 4, reproduced

A. Morassi, Dessins Vénitiens du Dix-huitième Siècle de la Collection du Duc de Talleyrand, Milan 1958, p. 21, no. 41 (as 'Scène de Polichinelles'), reproduced, fig. 41;
J. Byam Shaw, The Drawings of Domenico Tiepolo, London 1962, p. 57 (as Punchinello as a Schoolmaster);
A. Gealt, Domenico Tiepolo: The Punchinello Drawings, New York 1986, p. 62, no. 19, reproduced in color;
J. Byam Shaw and G. Knox, Italian Eighteenth-Century Drawings in the Robert Lehman Collection, New York 1987, p. 199, under no. 164, and under note 1

Hinged only at the top corners. Overall the media is fresh and strong and colors vibrant. Two small and narrow remains of brown paper at the top of the margin, towards the corners, from previous hinges. Some foxing scattered around but especially towards the right top corner and along the margins. A brown stain lower left and another toward the margin to the right in the middle. Sold mounted and framed in a modern frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The immensely lively and varied series of drawings illustrating scenes from the life of Punchinello, the famous character from the Commedia dell'Arte, are among the most celebrated and desirable of all Giandomenico's works.  The present sheet, among the most handsome in the entire series, is one of 104 episodes depicted in this endlessly inventive group of drawings, which, though never bound, remained together and complete, with a titlepage inscribed Divertimenti per i Ragazzi, from the late 18th century until they were dispersed by Richard Owen in the 1920s.  Through the detailed studies of James Byam Shaw and, more recently, Adelheid Gealt (see literature), we have become familiar with the adventures of the series' mischievous protagonist, Punchinello, who became a beloved popular hero in Naples when he was introduced onto the stage by the actor Silvio Fiorillo at the beginning of the 17th century.  By the 18th century, the improvised adventures of this tragi-comic figure were becoming enormously popular across Europe. 

The narrative created by Giandomenico does not appear to be based on any known text; the stories were most probably handed down orally, in accordance with the traditions of popular theatre.  The intended sequence of the drawings is also difficult to establish because the numbers which appear, as here, on most of the sheets, were added after Giandomenico's death, possibly, as Byam Shaw suggests, by his executor.  The drawings develop further the themes treated in the delightful grisaille frescoes of the Camera dei Pagliacci, in the Tiepolo family villa at Zianigo (1793-97) where Giandomenico spent the final years of his life.¹  It was at this late stage in his career that he turned his attention to making several extensive suites of large, finished drawings.  The Punchinello series is the last of all and in many ways the most ambitious, with its extremely diverse narrative, ranging from intimate family scenes to exotic adventures.  Byam Shaw suggested that the drawings can be grouped under five broad chapter headings: The Ancestry, Childhood and Youthful Amusements of Punchinello; His Various Trades and Occupations; His Adventures in Strange Countries; His Social and Official Life; His Last Illness and Death.²  

In the present composition, brilliantly drawn and washed in two shades of brown ink over a strong underdrawing in black chalk, Giovanni Domenico has depicted the lively scene of a rural classroom where the headmaster, a bewigged Punchinello towards the front of the composition, is offered an open book by another Punchinello, who is holding the hand of a child.  The scene is animated and crowded with other Punchinelli, all wearing the distinctive hat and the dark mask with the beaky nose.  There are several children in the foreground, and on the far right a young Punchinello, 'a reluctant student', is being encouraged by his father.  A variation of these two figures appears in a similar spot in another drawing in the series: The Badminton Victory.³ 

In the background, to the left of the composition, a Punchinello seated at a table and an assistant are registering the pupils.  A touch of domesticity is provided by a birdcage hanging from the ceiling and also by a dog in the left foreground.  The only woman in the scene, wearing a scarf, is dressed in a rural costume, confirming that the story is taking place in the country.  On the left background behind the table, two mantles and tricorn hats are hanging on a wall, while on the right the opening of a door creates a wonderful unexpected space, giving much more depth, space and structure to the whole composition; this casually introduced yet masterful visual device is so typical of Giandomenico’s compositional and narrative genius.

There is a degree of playfulness and lightness in all these scenes, which explains the enormous favour the series has always enjoyed.  Byam Shaw, taking note of the inscription on the title-page, suggested that it was created for the amusement of young visitors at the family villa at Zianigo.  As he has also observed, in the drawings from this series Giandomenico seems to go back more than ever before to earlier inventions, and to borrow more frequently from previous compositions, both from his own, especially the ‘Contemporary Life’ scenes, and from those of his father.  Indeed, in the present sheet Giandomenico has reused and adapted some elements from one of his previous drawings: 'The School', dated 1791, from his 'Scenes of Contemporary Life', in the Robert Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.⁴  

The Punchinello drawings, together with the scenes of Contemporary Life, can be considered the greatest contributions that Giandomenico made to Venetian art and will always be emblematic of his wit and fantasy in capturing a moment, and telling a story.  The Punchinello series is the last expression of a truly and unique Venetian genius in art.

^1. The frescoes of the Villa have been detached, and are now in the Museum of Ca' Rezzonico, Venice

^2. Byam Shaw, op. cit., 1962, p. 56   

^3. Gealt, op. cit., p. 46, no. 5, reproduced

^4. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 1975.1.512; Byam Shaw and Knox, loc. cit.