Lot 337
  • 337

GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO | A caricature of a man, in profile, wearing a hat and a pair of spectacles

Estimate
12,000 - 16,000 GBP
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Description

  • Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
  • A caricature of a man, in profile, wearing a hat and a pair of spectacles 
  • Pen and black ink and grey wash (recto);light sketches in pen and brown ink and wash and black chalk (verso)
  • 193 by 139 mm

Provenance

Probably from the album Tomo terzo de caricature;
probably Count Bernardino Algarotti Corniani;
probably Breadalbane family;
Langton House, Dun, Berwickshire;
sale, Edinburgh, Dowells, 25 March 1925, lot 1004 (bought by J. Grant, bookseller, Edinburgh);
Arthur Kay, Edinburgh;
sale, London, Christie's, 9 April 1943;
Private Collection, Monaco

Condition

Hinged to the mount at the upper margin. There is a small area of white heightening that is covering a stain at the left side of the sheet in line with the man's nose. Light foxing above the man's head. Otherwise the sheet is in good condition and pen and ink and wash strong.
"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."

Catalogue Note

This spirited and amusing caricature is very close in execution and style to others by G.B. Tiepolo in his Tomo terzo di caricature, dated by George Knox to the period of 1754-62.  The Tomo Terzo, formerly in the Algarotti-Corniani collection, was dismantled in order to be sold at Christie's on 9 April 1943.  Tiepolo's caricatures must originally have been preserved in three volumes, and in an 1854 catalogue of the Algarotti-Corniani collection, two such volumes are listed, containing 'una copiosa collezione di disegni umoristici del Tiepolo'.1    The gentleman represented here bears a strong resemblance to another caricature by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo of a seated, hunchbacked man wearing glasses and a cap, holding a book, seen in profile, who George Knox has suggested may represent an ecclesiastic.2

1.  G. Knox, Tiepolo, A Bicentenary Exhibition, exhib. cat., Cambridge, Mass., Fogg Art Museum, 1970, no. 87
2. Sale, New York, Sotheby's, 25 January 2012, lot 111