Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

Giovanni Domenico Bossi, with associated price code on the verso: X^rs.4 N^o 3511;
by descent to his daughter Maria Teresa Carolina Bossi (1825-1881) who married Karl Christian Friederich Beyerlen (1826-1893),
his sale, Stuttgart, H.G. Gutekunst, 27 March 1882;
Dr. Hans Wendland, Lugano;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 19 February 1930, lot 44 (as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo);
de Vries, Amsterdam, 1930;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 23 March 1972, lot 133 (as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo)

G. Knox, 'G. B. Tiepolo and the ceiling of the Scalzi', The Burlington Magazine, July 1968, p. 398, no. 9, p. 400, fig. 54, reproduced;
D. von Hadeln, The Drawings of G.B. Tiepolo, New York 1970, p. 25, no. 172, reproduced 

Window mounted to a paper backing. There are a number of old creases and some minor buckling to the sheet. The blue colour of the original paper has faded somewhat and there are signs of minor foxing and surface dirt throughout. The chalk medium has remained predominantly strong throughout this attractive sheet.
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.

Though the present work had, for much of the twentieth century, sustained an attribution to Giambattista Tiepolo, as a study for one of the putti in the now destroyed central section of the Scalzi ceiling, George Knox convincingly suggested (see Literature) that this drawing instead belongs to a group of studies executed by Giandomenico Tiepolo as ricordi of his father's work for the aforementioned project.