Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

In its great stylistic freedom, this drawing, executed solely in pen and ink, fits securely within a group of at least fourteen sheets by Giandomenico depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ.¹ These are all drawn in the same technique, characterized by closely hatched lines used to define the areas of shade, and a total absence of the shading washes that Giandomenico more usually employed.

The present drawing can be considered a relatively early work, executed circa 1760, as suggested by Byam Shaw for the aforementioned group of drawings of the Passion.² Other highly comparable sheets, similarly depicting scenes from the Passion, can be found in, for example, the collections of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg³ and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.⁴

1. For the whereabouts of the group, see B. Aikema and M. Tuijn, Tiepolo in Holland, Works by Giambattista Tiepolo and His Circle in Dutch Collections, exhib. cat., Rotterdam, Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, 1996, p. 124, no. 54, and p. 127 notes 1-7

2. Byam Shaw, op. cit., 1962, p. 35

3. A.M. Gealt and G. Knox, Giandomenico Tiepolo. Maestria e gioco. Disegni dal mondo, exhib. cat., Udine, Castello di Udine, and Bloomington, Indiana University Art Museum, 1996-1997, p. 154, no. 78, reproduced

4. Byam Shaw and Knox, op. cit., 1987, p. 147, no. 120, reproduced