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Lot Essay
One of four highly finished drawings of similar style and dimension that are associated with Tiepolo's etching (Rizzi 27) and altarpiece (Alte Pinakothek, Munich) of the same subject. The present drawing and the other three Adoration drawings (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Cleveland Museum of Art, and Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett) are characterized by their large size, controlled handling of wash, and high degree of finish.
In terms of technique, The Adoration of the Magi exhibits the virtuosity of Tiepolo's use of brush and wash. First, the artist lightly sketches the main figures and the structure of the composition in black chalk. He then applies translucent brown washes of varying intensities, using his brush to intensify the shadows in the folds of the drapery and his pen to outline the figures. He is masterly in his use of the reserve: his understanding of the effect of creamy white paper as a tonal and compositional element is exemplary in this drawing. Thanks to the exceptional state of preservation, the clear tones of the high quality Venetian cream paper are more evident here than in those sheets which have been treated by a conservator. The overall effect is of a luminous composition.
While the pen and wash technique is similar in all four Adoration drawings, Tiepolo modifies the placement and poses of the figures as well as the setting and background in each composition. His subtly inventive iconographical and compositional interpretations of a frequently depicted subject demonstrate the artist's constant re-evaluation of even the most traditional narratives. For example, the Magi approach the Virgin and Child who sit on a raised platform, from the right in the San Francisco and Berlin drawing, but from the left in the New York and Cleveland one, which is the only one of the four drawings to include the unusual iconography of a broken wheel in the foreground of the composition as in the etching. The turbaned, genuflecting Magi in the San Francisco and Berlin drawings is the figure most similar to the one in the etching. The variations between the drawings and the etchings further emphasize that the drawings were independent works of art that may have later served as inspiration for the print. The etching is ultimately more elaborate than the drawings - it is more expansive, with a greater number of figures and a more defined architectural setting. Each of Tiepolo's graphic Adoration compositions as well as the Schwarzbach altarpiece now in Munich loosely derive inspiration from his illustrious Venetian predecessor, Paolo Veronese's Adoration at the National Gallery, London. However, the theatrical grandeur of Veronese's composition gives way to intimately observed human details in Tiepolo's drawing - as seen in the Christ Child's tender blessing of the aged and humbled Magi, the young boy's nervous handling of a tray of gifts, and the attendant in the background attempting to rope a camel. Proposed dates for all four Adoration drawings range from the 1730s to 1753, the year of the Schwarzbach altarpiece. While the more controlled handling of the wash supports a dating earlier in Tiepolo's career, if the drawings are thought to be closely associated with the Schwarzbach altarpiece then they might be placed in the following decade. The date for the creation of the etching is also uncertain, although it is generally agreed that it post-dates any of the drawings.
While the early history of the present drawing cannot be confirmed, its similar size and style to the New York Adoration suggests that they once might have been part of the same album or albums of drawings that Tiepolo gave his younger son, Giovanni Maria, a priest at Santa Maria della Salute when he left for Spain in 1762. These albums remained in the church's library until Napoleon sold off Church property after the defeat of the Venetian Republic in 1798. It was sometime after this that some of the albums were acquired by Prince Alexis Orloff, and the Marquis de Biron many of whose drawings, including a Tiepolo Adoration, were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1937 (see J. Byam Shaw, 'The Biron Collection of Tiepolo Drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art', The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 3, 1970, pp. 235-58). Drawings from both these collections are of similar dimensions to the present lot, suggesting that they were once part of the same album or albums. The Biron Tiepolo drawings includes other examples of Tiepolo exploring the compositional possibilities of one subject - there are seven drawings of the Annunciation, and three of the Incredulity of St. Thomas.
In terms of technique, The Adoration of the Magi exhibits the virtuosity of Tiepolo's use of brush and wash. First, the artist lightly sketches the main figures and the structure of the composition in black chalk. He then applies translucent brown washes of varying intensities, using his brush to intensify the shadows in the folds of the drapery and his pen to outline the figures. He is masterly in his use of the reserve: his understanding of the effect of creamy white paper as a tonal and compositional element is exemplary in this drawing. Thanks to the exceptional state of preservation, the clear tones of the high quality Venetian cream paper are more evident here than in those sheets which have been treated by a conservator. The overall effect is of a luminous composition.
While the pen and wash technique is similar in all four Adoration drawings, Tiepolo modifies the placement and poses of the figures as well as the setting and background in each composition. His subtly inventive iconographical and compositional interpretations of a frequently depicted subject demonstrate the artist's constant re-evaluation of even the most traditional narratives. For example, the Magi approach the Virgin and Child who sit on a raised platform, from the right in the San Francisco and Berlin drawing, but from the left in the New York and Cleveland one, which is the only one of the four drawings to include the unusual iconography of a broken wheel in the foreground of the composition as in the etching. The turbaned, genuflecting Magi in the San Francisco and Berlin drawings is the figure most similar to the one in the etching. The variations between the drawings and the etchings further emphasize that the drawings were independent works of art that may have later served as inspiration for the print. The etching is ultimately more elaborate than the drawings - it is more expansive, with a greater number of figures and a more defined architectural setting. Each of Tiepolo's graphic Adoration compositions as well as the Schwarzbach altarpiece now in Munich loosely derive inspiration from his illustrious Venetian predecessor, Paolo Veronese's Adoration at the National Gallery, London. However, the theatrical grandeur of Veronese's composition gives way to intimately observed human details in Tiepolo's drawing - as seen in the Christ Child's tender blessing of the aged and humbled Magi, the young boy's nervous handling of a tray of gifts, and the attendant in the background attempting to rope a camel. Proposed dates for all four Adoration drawings range from the 1730s to 1753, the year of the Schwarzbach altarpiece. While the more controlled handling of the wash supports a dating earlier in Tiepolo's career, if the drawings are thought to be closely associated with the Schwarzbach altarpiece then they might be placed in the following decade. The date for the creation of the etching is also uncertain, although it is generally agreed that it post-dates any of the drawings.
While the early history of the present drawing cannot be confirmed, its similar size and style to the New York Adoration suggests that they once might have been part of the same album or albums of drawings that Tiepolo gave his younger son, Giovanni Maria, a priest at Santa Maria della Salute when he left for Spain in 1762. These albums remained in the church's library until Napoleon sold off Church property after the defeat of the Venetian Republic in 1798. It was sometime after this that some of the albums were acquired by Prince Alexis Orloff, and the Marquis de Biron many of whose drawings, including a Tiepolo Adoration, were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1937 (see J. Byam Shaw, 'The Biron Collection of Tiepolo Drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art', The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 3, 1970, pp. 235-58). Drawings from both these collections are of similar dimensions to the present lot, suggesting that they were once part of the same album or albums. The Biron Tiepolo drawings includes other examples of Tiepolo exploring the compositional possibilities of one subject - there are seven drawings of the Annunciation, and three of the Incredulity of St. Thomas.