- 61
Attributed to Andrea Tirali
Description
- Andrea Tirali
- design for the tomb of members of the valier family
- Pen and brown and black ink and watercolor over black chalk, heightened with gold;
inscribed in brown ink and gold on cartouche, upper centre: DOM;
a scale inscribed in brown ink, lower center
Provenance
Catalogue Note
Little is known of the drawings of Andea Tirali, but this appears to be a preparatory design for the imposing monumental tomb which he built for the Valier family, in the central nave of the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, Venice (fig. 1). The tomb was completed in 1708 to honour Doge Bertucci Valier (died 1658), his son Doge Silvestro Valier (died 1700) and his wife, Dogaressa Elisabetta Querini-Valier (died 1708), each of whom were modelled by some of the finest sculptors of the period: Pietro Baratta, Antonio Tarsia and Giovanni Bonazza.
The present drawing has some differences from the tomb as it was finally built: the three central figures are standing, rather than kneeling, seven reliefs decorate the lower register rather than the three in this design and the sculpted figures throughout are in slightly different positions.