Étiquettes
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, over black chalk, Pen and brown ink and two shades of brown wash, The Holy Family with angels
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Venice 1696 – 1770 Madrid), The Holy Family with angels. Photo Sotheby’s.
Pen and brown ink and two shades of brown wash, over black chalk; 251 by 202 mm; 9 7/8 by 8 in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 USD
PROVENANCE: Library of the Somasco Convent at Santa Maria della Salute, Venice;
Count Leopoldo Cicognara;
Antonio Canova;
by inheritance to his half-brother, Monsignor Giovanni Battista Sartori-Canova;
Francesco Pesaro;
by whom sold to Col. Edward Cheney, Badger Hall, Shropshire;
by inheritance to his brother-in-law, Col. Alfred Capel-Cure, Blake Hall,
sale, London, Sotheby’s, 29 April 1885 (part of lot 1024), to E. Parsons and Sons, London;
With The Savile Gallery, London, Drawings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, exhib. cat., 1928, possibly part of no. 12, not reproduced;
Duc de Talleyrand, Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt;
The British Rail Pension Fund;
from which acquired by the present owner
LITTERATURE: A. Morassi, Dessins Vénitiens du Dix-huitième Siècle de la Collection du Duc de Talleyrand, Milan 1958, p. 15, no. 17, reproduced, fig. 17
NOTES: Like lots 54, 55 and 59, this drawing belongs to Tiepolo’s remarkable series of variations on the theme of the Holy Family. (See note to lot 54 for a full account of the series.) Drawn with the same golden ink as lots 54 and 55, this sheet is also characterized by an extensive black chalk underdrawing, from which it is clear that Tiepolo made a few alterations to his composition, most noticeably in the right hand of the kneeling St. Joseph. Even while finishing the hand in question in pen and ink, Tiepolo was still clearly rethinking its final position. These pentimenti testify to the artist’s continuous and indefatigable pursuit of perfection.
In this version of the subject, St. Joseph is represented as a beardless young man, kneeling with open arms in front of the Christ Child, who stands slightly above him, behind his cradle. While the Madonna restrains the naked Child from moving towards the St Joseph, an angel tries to cover him with a cloth. Three angels overlook the intimate moment. In this sheet Tiepolo has used the cradle as an architectural element in the foreground, while the event develops around it. The handsome figure of the kneeling St Joseph balances the composition to the left. The Virgin’s hair and her veil are enriched by vibrant touches of pen and brown ink. There are sparkles of light everywhere, due to Tiepolo’s subtle and extraordinary use of the white surface of the paper. The abundant brown wash is applied in two different shades, one slightly more gray.
Sotheby’s. Old Master Drawings. New York, 28 janv. 2015, 10:00 AM