Adoration of the Magi

The Adoration of the Magi is Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's largest etching, but is related to a much smaller drawing by the artist in pen and brown wash over pencil at the Cantor Arts Center in Stanford (see ill.). The dating and relation of the two works to each other is somewhat uncertain: on the basis of stylistic correlations with the Scherzi-series, Rizzi suggested a date of creation around 1740 for the etching, while the drawing has been loosely dated to 1750-70. Whether the etching does indeed precede the drawing or vice versa remains the subject of speculation. Despite a general similarity of the two composition, there are considerable differences, too: one is not a copy or translation of the other into a different medium. The artist clearly saw them a very different works. The comparison is instructive for another reason: Tiepolo drawing style and his etching manner are quite distinct: in the drawing, his use of wash in particular lends weight to his figures and objects and grounds the composition, and his lines, however sketchy, are long and firm; the etching in contrast is made up of a myriad of short lines and tiny flicks of the needle. By varying the density and direction of his etched marks, he creates shading and texture. The overall effect of the print however is one of constant flux: everything seems aflutter, as if a gust of wind could make the whole scene diffuse and disappear. It is a stylistic peculiarity that can be observed in some of Giovanni Battista's best etchings, in particular the Scherzi and some of the Capricci, and goes beyond mere technical or aesthetic considerations. Rather, by formal means, Tiepolo seems to make a philosophical point: the visible world is not a solid place, but a mirage - diaphanous, fleeting and ephemeral.
The original copperplate of The Adoration of the Magi however has endured and is at the Museo Correr in Venice.