Lot Essay
The traditional attribution to Pitteri was rejected by Antonio Morassi, who suggested for the first time that this was by the young Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, op. cit., pp. 43-50. The drawing shows an academy, probably that of Piazzetta, around 1720, when Tiepolo like many of the most talented painters of his generation, was studying in his studio. Although there was no official academy established in Venice until 1750, Piazzetta's studio had long since acted as the centre of artistic training in the city. In 1745 Giuseppe Angeli is recorded as being in charge of the school of Piazzetta, and it is possible that it became the nucleus of the official art school. Piazzetta was appointed one of the principal directors when the academy opened.
The drawing shows young artists sketching a male nude, standing on a raised dais at the right. His clothes, carelessly left in a heap, are to the left of the column on which he leans, in a relaxed attitude, to ensure that he can maintain the pose without discomfort. An hour glass at his feet measures the length of time of the pose. The model is lit by a central oil lamp, which ensured the strong contrasts of light and shade that are so characteristic of Piazzetta academy drawings. The students sit on two rows of benches, the second tier lit by shaded candles. They are all drawing with chalk, resting the paper on boards on their knees. A similar arrangement is shown in a study of the Bolognese Accademia Clementina by Pietro Antonio Novelli, sold in Christie's, New York, 13 January 1987, lot 65, illustrated.
In the right hand corner of the present drawing, an older man stands observing the students; Morassi tentatively identified him as Piazzetta, noting the similarity with his self-portrait in the Albertina and the engraving by Pitteri, Morassi, figs. 2 and 3. An assistant of Piazzetta sits below him, correcting the drawing of a student. Morassi suggests that the figure in the front foreground is a self-portrait by Tiepolo, and the features accord well with the portraits in the frescoes at Udine and Würzburg, Morassi, figs. 4 and 5. The identity of the other students can only be conjectured but, as Morassi notes, possible candidates could be Nazzari, Nogari, Crosato and Antonio Guardi
The drawing shows young artists sketching a male nude, standing on a raised dais at the right. His clothes, carelessly left in a heap, are to the left of the column on which he leans, in a relaxed attitude, to ensure that he can maintain the pose without discomfort. An hour glass at his feet measures the length of time of the pose. The model is lit by a central oil lamp, which ensured the strong contrasts of light and shade that are so characteristic of Piazzetta academy drawings. The students sit on two rows of benches, the second tier lit by shaded candles. They are all drawing with chalk, resting the paper on boards on their knees. A similar arrangement is shown in a study of the Bolognese Accademia Clementina by Pietro Antonio Novelli, sold in Christie's, New York, 13 January 1987, lot 65, illustrated.
In the right hand corner of the present drawing, an older man stands observing the students; Morassi tentatively identified him as Piazzetta, noting the similarity with his self-portrait in the Albertina and the engraving by Pitteri, Morassi, figs. 2 and 3. An assistant of Piazzetta sits below him, correcting the drawing of a student. Morassi suggests that the figure in the front foreground is a self-portrait by Tiepolo, and the features accord well with the portraits in the frescoes at Udine and Würzburg, Morassi, figs. 4 and 5. The identity of the other students can only be conjectured but, as Morassi notes, possible candidates could be Nazzari, Nogari, Crosato and Antonio Guardi