Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

This detached fresco fragment is in good condition overall. There are minor cracks in the background traveling inward from the lower and right edge of approx. 1 in. and a very fine crack of approx 10 in. running diagonally downward from the left side though these in no way detract from the image. There is a minor loss in the upper left background and minor retouching of approx. 1 by 1 in. behind the ear and 1/8 by 1/8 in. in the neck. The painting is offered in a simple wood frame and is ready to hang in its present state.
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.

This well-preserved fresco fragment simulating a classical relief relates directly to a scheme of decoration for the Villa Valmarana, recorded to have been directed under the supervision of Giambattista Tiepolo. Within this decorative series, the present fresco relates closest to a work given by Mariuz to Giandomenico Tiepolo, located in the Foresteria of the villa, which also depicts a bearded man in profile with Greek letters inscribed to the left and right of the portrait.¹

Though executed in fresco, it would seem quite unlikely that the present work comes directly from the Villa Valmarana, as its decorations appear to remain essentially intact, but two other buildings in Vicenza itself - the Palazzo Trento Valmarana and the Palazzo dei Conti Valle - of roughly the same period, have suffered substantial losses. The Palazzo Trento Valmarana was destroyed by bombing in 1945, and while many of the works from that villa are destroyed, some remain, and surviving frescoes by Tiepolo and his workshop are recorded in a series of photographs, only some of which have been published.²  The frescoes in the Palazzo dei Conti Valle, four of which are now located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they are designated as Giambattista Tiepolo and Workshop, are quite close in style to the present work, and would appear to date from around the same moment.³  Keith Christiansen has suggested that this series may be a possible source of inspiration  for the present fragment, though no trace of it is recorded in the building itself.⁴  As here, the four large figures in the Metropolitan Museum (inv. nos. 43.85.13-6) which simulate antique sculpture - identified as METAFISICA,  ARITMETICA, GEOMETRIA, and GRAMMATICA - are executed in a manner that parallels the lettering on the drawings of statues of Gods and Goddesses.  

We are grateful to Keith Christiansen for supporting the attribution to Giandomenico Tiepolo, based on firsthand inspection.

1. See A. Mariuz, Giandomenico Tiepolo, Venice 1971, fig. 129.
2. See M. Gemin & F. Pedrocco, Giambattista Tiepolo, Venice 1993, figs. 456-7. These photographs, however, have no caption or credit line attached so are unable to throw any light on the problem. For an account of the present state of the building see Rita Menegozzo, Nobili e Tiepolo a Vicenza, Vicenza 1990, pp. 101-112.
3. 1743 by Mauro Cova, the date of the Tiepolo frescoes of the Villa Cordellina near Vicenza.
4. See Vittorio Sgarbi et al., Vicenza, September 1986; see also Menegozzo, under footnote 2, 1990, pp. 71-88.