Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Venice 1696 - 1770 Madrid) The Brazen Serpent

Black chalk; on the verso a tracing of the woman and child to the left of the composition; bears old attribution in pen and ink: Tita Tiepolo. 347 by 250 mm. Est. 5,000—7,000 USD. Lot Sold 6,250 USD

We are grateful to Bernard Aikema who confirms the attribution to Giambattista Tiepolo, identifying it as a very early drawing of around 1715.

PROVENANCE: G. Vallardi (L.1223)

NOTE: The attribution was confirmed by Knox in a letter to a previous owner in 1986. This must be an early work by Giambattista when he was strongly influenced by Piazzetta's style. As Bernard Aikema pointed out when writing on Giambattista's early drawings, only a few can be linked directly to known paintings or to prints after his designs, and he also remarks: 'That Tiepolo's early drawings are characterized by an exceptionally wide range of styles and techniques and are radically uneven in quality compounds the problem.'¹ This drawing bears quite a strong resemblance to some of Giambattista's pen and ink drawings, for instance: The Virgin and Child with Saints and The Martyrdom of Saint Andrew, both in private collections.²

We are grateful to Bernard Aikema who confirms the attribution to Giambattista Tiepolo, identifying it as a very early drawing of around 1715.

1. B. Aikema, Tiepolo and His Circle, exhibition catalogue, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Art Museums, et. al., 1996-97, p. 7

2. See Aikema, op.cit., p. 19, fig. 12, and p. 40, cat. no. 8.

Sotheby's. Old Master & 19th Century European Art. 05 Jun 09. New York www.sothebys.com