Lot Essay
Born in Belluno, roughly 100 kilometres north of Venice, Diziani trained at the Venetian workshops of Gregorio Lazzarini (1655-1730) and later Sebastiano Ricci (1659-1734). Ricci - who also originated from the Belluno area - played a major role in shaping Diziani’s early artistic direction.
While he spent short periods working abroad in Dresden (1717–1720), Munich, and Rome (1726–1727), Diziani was, for the most part, a Venice-based artist, building his career and reputation there.
His drawings are distinctly recognisable with the use of red chalk and brown ink, then heavily worked with grey or brown wash. It is a technique that gives his sheets an atmospheric depth and can be seen in other biblical compositions such as The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the Louvre, Paris (inv. 18073) and The Justice of Solomon in the Bonnat Museum, Bayonne (inv. CMNI 3150).
Although some of the figures are in reverse, the present composition is close to that of Diziani’s oil sketch modello for an altarpiece of The Assumption of the Virgin of c.1734-1740, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (inv. M.80.147; S.).
While he spent short periods working abroad in Dresden (1717–1720), Munich, and Rome (1726–1727), Diziani was, for the most part, a Venice-based artist, building his career and reputation there.
His drawings are distinctly recognisable with the use of red chalk and brown ink, then heavily worked with grey or brown wash. It is a technique that gives his sheets an atmospheric depth and can be seen in other biblical compositions such as The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the Louvre, Paris (inv. 18073) and The Justice of Solomon in the Bonnat Museum, Bayonne (inv. CMNI 3150).
Although some of the figures are in reverse, the present composition is close to that of Diziani’s oil sketch modello for an altarpiece of The Assumption of the Virgin of c.1734-1740, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (inv. M.80.147; S.).
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
