alb3623442

GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO. Study for an Inkstand

Study for an Inkstand. Artist: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, Venice 1696-1770 Madrid). Dimensions: 17 11/16 x 12 3/16 in. (45 x 31 cm). Date: ca. 1740-45.
The celebrated Venetian painter, etcher, and draftsman Giambattista Tiepolo is best known for his theatrically painted ceilings. This sheet represents a lesser known side of Tiepolo's production: his designs for metalwork. Formerly identified as a study for a fountain, this drawing is now thought to represent a design for an inkstand, possibly in silver, viewed slightly from below and to the left of its central axis. Two goose quill pens emerge from conical shell holders behind the two figures of mermaids, whose tails serve as support stands for the object. The central figure, holding a torch and a book, represents Sapienza, or knowledge. The drawing probably dates to the 1740s, when the artist produced other designs for silver.

Share
Pinterest
Twitter
Facebook
Copy link
Email

Add to another lightbox

Do you already have an account? Sign in

You do not have an account? Register

Buy this image. Select the use:

Author:

GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO (1696-1770)

Title:

Study for an Inkstand

Caption:

Study for an Inkstand. Artist: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, Venice 1696-1770 Madrid). Dimensions: 17 11/16 x 12 3/16 in. (45 x 31 cm). Date: ca. 1740-45. The celebrated Venetian painter, etcher, and draftsman Giambattista Tiepolo is best known for his theatrically painted ceilings. This sheet represents a lesser known side of Tiepolo's production: his designs for metalwork. Formerly identified as a study for a fountain, this drawing is now thought to represent a design for an inkstand, possibly in silver, viewed slightly from below and to the left of its central axis. Two goose quill pens emerge from conical shell holders behind the two figures of mermaids, whose tails serve as support stands for the object. The central figure, holding a torch and a book, represents Sapienza, or knowledge. The drawing probably dates to the 1740s, when the artist produced other designs for silver.

Technique/material:

Pen and brown ink, gray wash, with splashes of brown wash on the left, over black chalk

Museum:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Credit:

Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Releases:

? Model Release: No - ? Property Release: No
Rights questions?

Image size:

2944 x 4231 px | 35.6 MB

Print size:

24.9 x 35.8 cm | 9.8 x 14.1 in (300 dpi)

Keywords:

BLACK CHALK • CHALK • DRAWINGS • EUROPE • GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO • INK • ITALY • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • PASTELS • PEN AND BROWN INK, GRAY WASH, WITH SPLASHES OF BROWN WASH ON THE LEFT, OVER BLACK CHALK • PEN • ROBERT LEHMAN COLLECTION