Two studies of an angel seated on an open tomb (recto); Woman and child walking by a seated man (verso)

At the end of the 17th Century, Sebastiano Ricci played a crucial role in reorienting Venetian painting toward a new, painterly grand manner inspired by the works of earlier masters such as Paolo Veronese. Ricci is considered an important innovator who played a vital role in the rebirth of Venetian painting in the Settecento. The sheet can be compared with a drawing with Two studies for a flying angel in the Morgan Library and Museum (see B. Aikema, Tiepolo and His Circle. Drawings in American Collections, exhib. cat., Cambridge, Harvard Art Museums, and New York, The Morgan Library and Museum, 1996-1997, no. 34, ill.).