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Lot Essay
The figures beautifully rendered on this sheet are allegorical representations of Valor and Fame. Valor appears as a bearded hero clad in antique drapery, crowned with laurel, his left hand resting on a sword, while a shield stands behind him. Beside him is the personification of Fame (or Glory), identifiable by her wings and trumpet.
Tiepolo explored the theme of these two personifications throughout his career, adopting the figures in his paintings in several different iterations. Other drawings of similar subjects include a sheet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Apotheosis of a warrior (inv. 37.165.26; J. Bean and B. Griswold, 18th Century Italian Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990, p. 235, no. 226, ill.), and a drawing in the Morgan Library & Museum, New York (inv. IV, 105; Drawings from New York Collections III. The 18th Century in Italy, exh. cat., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971, no. 140, ill.) which includes a third allegorical figure.
The present drawing has been associated with a ceiling project conceived by Tiepolo for Palazzo Barbaro in Venice. Commissioned by Almorò Barbaro (1681-1754) to celebrate his family (inv. 23.128; Giambattista Tiepolo 1696-1770, exh. cat., New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 21a, ill.). Although the figures in the drawing do not correspond exactly to the painted design, the sheet contains an idea closely related to the central motif of the painted ceiling decoration (fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The glorification of the Barbaro family. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Tiepolo explored the theme of these two personifications throughout his career, adopting the figures in his paintings in several different iterations. Other drawings of similar subjects include a sheet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Apotheosis of a warrior (inv. 37.165.26; J. Bean and B. Griswold, 18th Century Italian Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990, p. 235, no. 226, ill.), and a drawing in the Morgan Library & Museum, New York (inv. IV, 105; Drawings from New York Collections III. The 18th Century in Italy, exh. cat., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971, no. 140, ill.) which includes a third allegorical figure.
The present drawing has been associated with a ceiling project conceived by Tiepolo for Palazzo Barbaro in Venice. Commissioned by Almorò Barbaro (1681-1754) to celebrate his family (inv. 23.128; Giambattista Tiepolo 1696-1770, exh. cat., New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 21a, ill.). Although the figures in the drawing do not correspond exactly to the painted design, the sheet contains an idea closely related to the central motif of the painted ceiling decoration (fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The glorification of the Barbaro family. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.