Lot Essay
The composition was engraved by Francesco Zucchi with the title The Crucifix of Poveglia, a city in the Venetian Lagoon, E. Sack, G. und D. Tiepolo, Hamburg, 1910, p. 306, illustrated. No painting of that subject is traced in Poveglia and it is possible that the picture never existed, as Professor Knox suggests. The careful handling of the present drawing and its framing lines suggest that it was specifically drawn by Tiepolo to be used by the engraver Francesco Zucchi (1692-1764). A drawing of the Annunciation that shows the same minute handling of the chalk as in the present drawing is in a private collection in Oxfordshire, C. Whistler, C. White and R. Baird, Hidden treasures, Works of art from Oxfordshire private collections, exhib. cat., Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1993, no. 56, illustrated. The Annunciation is also enclosed in framing lines and might have also been a project for an engraver.
The handling of both these sheets is comparable to that of Tiepolo's early drawing of Piazzetta's academy, sold at Christie's, London, 6 July 1993, lot 90, illustrated. The Academy was probably executed by Tiepolo when he worked in Piazzetta's academy in the early 1720s.
The handling of both these sheets is comparable to that of Tiepolo's early drawing of Piazzetta's academy, sold at Christie's, London, 6 July 1993, lot 90, illustrated. The Academy was probably executed by Tiepolo when he worked in Piazzetta's academy in the early 1720s.