Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

Possibly the Wittelsbach family, Starnberg Castle, until transferred to the Bavarian State, by about 1803;

Museumsverein für das Würmgaumuseum, later Starnberger Museumsverein, Starnberg, by about 1914;

From whom taken on commission by Julius Böhler, Munich, 18 August 1938, by whom sold on 14 July 1950, to Cassirer;

With Paul Cassirer, Amsterdam;

From whom acquired by the the late husband of the present owner in 1950.

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Structural Condition The canvas has been lined and this has successfully secured and stabilised the overall pattern of drying craquelure which is most evident in the dark brown pigments. Paint Surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows extensive retouchings, the most significant of which are: 1) retouchings covering much of the dark background, and the darker shadows of the draperies, 2) retouchings on the Virgin's right shoulder and veil, 3) retouchings running down the right side of her face, 4) small retouchings on the Virgin's eyebrows, on her nose and lips, and 5) retouchings highlighting the contours of Christ Child's left hand, which rests against the Virgin's face. 6) Small spots of retouching on Christ's face, arm and shoulder, and 7) small retouchings on the face of John the Baptist, with larger retouchings in his hair and on his collar. There are other scattered retouchings. There is evidence of old opaque varnish layers, particularly in the lower right of the composition, with an earlier phase of retouching just visible beneath these varnish layers. There may be other retouchings beneath opaque varnish layers that are not easily identifiable under ultra-violet light. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in reasonably good and stable condition and the extent of retouchings applied in the past should be noted.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This hitherto unpublished canvas by Giandomenico, eldest surviving son of Giambattista, seems likely to have been painted in Venice upon his return from Spain, where he and his brother Lorenzo had been assisting his father on the decoration of the Royal Palace in Madrid. When Giambattista died in Madrid in 1770, Giandomenico returned to Venice and, emerging from the shadow of his eminent father, produced some of his most remarkable work. This charming Madonna and Child with the infant Saint John sits well among a group of paintings of the same subject that Giandomenico painted during this period.

In his 1971 monograph, Adriano Mariuz lists five similar compositions although none include the figure of the young Baptist that we see here.¹ It is Mariuz who dates the group to the 1760s and ’70s, and notes that the canvasses are united in their comparable handling of paint, in the chalky quality of their tonality, and in their intimate compositions. Mariuz also likens Giandomenico’s wriggling infants throughout these depictions of the Madonna and Child to the putti in his large altarpiece Three Angels appearing to Abraham in the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice.²

Giandomenico entered his father’s studio in the early 1740s, where he learnt his art by copying his father’s drawings and etchings. From 1750 to 1770 Giandomenico was both his father’s assistant and associate, as well as an independent artist. He quickly became an extremely proficient draughtsman and printmaker, depicting a variety of subjects, religious and profane, in fresco and on canvas. Giandomenico, however, avoided Giambattista’s grandiloquence and instead favoured creating more intimate, tender scenes such as the one we see here.  

The attribution to Giandomenico was first proposed in 2000 by George Knox, on inspection of colour transparencies, and has recently been endorsed by Keith Christiansen.

 

1. Mariuz 1971, figs 292–296.

2. See Mariuz 1971, p. 139, reproduced fig. 265.