Old Master & 19th Century European Art

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Lot 2
  • 2

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Venice 1696 - 1770 Madrid

Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 USD
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Description

  • Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
  • the brazen serpent
  • Black chalk; on the verso a tracing of the woman and child to the left of the composition;
    bears old attribution in pen and ink: Tita Tiepolo 
  • 13 1/2 by 9 7/8 in.
  • 347 by 250 mm.
  • We are grateful to Bernard Aikema who confirms the attribution to Giambattista Tiepolo, identifying it as a very early drawing of around 1715.

Provenance

G. Vallardi (L.1223)

Condition

The sheet is yellowed with some light matt burn, uneven edges. A crease across the center and two at the upper right hand corner. some areas of foxing and an area of darker discoloration at the upper left. The work is mounted to the matt from behind.
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.

Catalogue Note

The attribution was confirmed by Knox in a letter to a previous owner in 1986.  This must be an early work by Giambattista when he was strongly influenced by Piazzetta's style.  As Bernard Aikema pointed out when writing on Giambattista's early drawings, only a few can be linked directly to known paintings or to prints after his designs, and he also remarks: 'That Tiepolo's early drawings are characterized by an exceptionally wide range of styles and techniques and are radically uneven in quality compounds the problem.'1 This drawing bears quite a strong resemblance to some of Giambattista's pen and ink drawings, for instance: The Virgin and Child with Saints and The Martyrdom of Saint Andrew, both in private collections.2

We are grateful to Bernard Aikema who confirms the attribution to Giambattista Tiepolo, identifying it as a very early drawing of around 1715.


1. B. Aikema, Tiepolo and His Circle, exhibition catalogue, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Art Museums, et. al., 1996-97, p. 7

2. See Aikema, op.cit., p. 19, fig. 12, and p. 40, cat. no. 8.