Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 5 July 2007, lot 201;
There purchased by the present owner.

The canvas has an old relining which is still effective. To the naked eye the painting appears secure and clean. Inspection under UV light reveals quite extensive retouchings in the sky and scattered in other areas such as the darker tones. Many passages are in good original condition. Offered in a later carved and gilt wooden frame in good condition.
"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."

This recently discovered painting is a very early work by Giambattista Tiepolo. The picture can be dated on the basis of style to circa 1720, when the artist was in his early twenties, and may be compared with other small-scale canvases painted around this time; notably his Suicide of Aiace Telamonio.¹ The two paintings share the same colour palette and the almost supernatural ambient light, inspired by the works of Giambattista Piazzetta and Federico Bencovich (whose style has been described as 'neotenebroso'). The actively-posed figures in this and other paintings from this period also recall Sebastiano Ricci, whose return to Venice from England in 1718 almost certainly had a profound influence on the young Tiepolo. It is probably from around this time that the present work dates; just prior to the four mythological paintings in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, showing scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses (The Rape of Europa, Diana and Actaeon, Diana and Callisto, and Apollo and Marsyas), which were executed in 1720-21.² Although larger in scale, they share the 'fantasy' landscape setting of Bacchus and Ariadne and the composition of the latter, with its sweeping vista on the right and group of figures with putti to the left, echoes that in Tiepolo's Rape of Europa from the aforementioned Accademia set.³


1  Sold, New York, Christie's, 12 January 1996, lot 139. See M. Gemin & F. Pedrocco, Giambattista Tiepolo, Venice 1993, p. 239, cat. no. 57, reproduced.
2  Gemin & Pedrocco, op. cit., p. 228, cat. nos. 29-32, all reproduced.
3  Ibid., cat. no. 29, reproduced in colour on p. 25, plate 6.