Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Venice 1696 - 1770 Madrid

Probably Count Algarotti-Corniani, Venice;
by whom sold, Venice 1852, to Edward Cheney;
by descent to his brother-in-law, Colonel Alfred Capel-Cure;
his sale, London, Sotheby's, 29 April 1885, presumably part of lot 1024;
with Mssrs. B.T. Batsford, London;
by whom sold, London, Christie's, 14 July 1914, lot 49, for £120, to Parsons;
with E. Parsons and Sons, London;
Mrs Dore Gulbenkian;
by whom sold, London, Christie's, 5 April 1977, lot 118 (£3,800);
with Thos. Agnew and Sons, London, 1977, no. 27;
with Colnaghi, New York, 1984, cat. no. 38 (reproduced)

Florida, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College, Alumni and Friends Collections, 1990, no. 8

Framed. Some mild foxing, but mostly at the lower edge, so not visible. The ink has sunk slightly in parts, which has caused very tiny cracks in the darker areas. The image, however, is still strong.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present drawing is one of the series of figure studies known as sole Figure per Soffitti.  Three albums of Giambattista's figure studies, one at least bearing this title, were broken up by the London dealer Parsons after 1918.  Around one hundred and eighty of these studies of figures da sotto in sù are now known, and it can be presumed that they were contained in two of the three albums, the third being made up of another series of figure drawings known as Sole Figure Vestite.  Knox dates the series fairly late in Giambattista's career, to circa 1758-60.  The studies can rarely be connected with painted works and were most probably done for their own sake.  Tiepolo was clearly fascinated by the challenge of depicting these foreshortened figures, which are so often admired in his paintings and drawings.  For a complete discussion of the group, see G. Knox, Catalogue of the Tiepolo Drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum.¹

See also lots 104, 153 and 154.

1. London 1975, pp. 4-5