Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

Georges Hoentschel, Paris;
From whom acquired by J.Pierpont Morgan, 1906; 
By whom given to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1907 (Inv. no. 07.225.297). 

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oil Sketches by 18th Century Italian Artists from New York Collections, 30 January 30 - 21 March 1971, cat. no. 36 (as "Virtue and Wisdom," by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo);
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Venetian Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum, 1 May - 2 September 1974 (no catalogue);
Queens, NY, The Queens Museum, Flights of Fantasy, 14 August - 7 November 1982, cat. no. 50;
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Domenico Tiepolo: Drawings, Prints, and Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 23 January - 27 April 1997 (no catalogue).

J. Breck, "Paintings and Drawings by Tiepolo in the Metropolitan Museum," Art in America 1 (January 1913), pp. 8, 12, 14, reproduced fig. 6 (as attributed to Giovanni Battista Tiepolo);
M. Goering in Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, 33, Leipzig 1939, p. 160 (listed among works by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo; titled "Adel u. Weisheit" [Nobility and Wisdom]);
H. B. Wehle, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Catalogue of Italian, Spanish, and Byzantine Paintings, New York 1940, pp. 286–87, reproduced (as Workshop of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, titled "Virtue and Wisdom");
A. Morassi, A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings of G. B. Tiepolo, London 1962, p. 33 (as Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, titled "Virtue and Wisdom");
B. B. Fredericksen and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections, Cambridge 1972, pp. 198, 543, 605 (where identified as an unknown allegory);
F. Zeri with E. E. Gardner, Italian Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Venetian School, New York 1973, pp. 66–67, reproduced plate 81, (as Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, titled "Virtue and Wisdom");
K. Baetjer, European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by artists born before 1865, A Summary Catalogue, New York 1980, vol. I, p. 185, reproduced vol. II, p. 142 (as Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo);
K. Baetjer, European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by artists born before 1865, A Summary Catalogue, New York 1995, p. 97, reproduced (as Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo);
L. Wolk-Simon, "Domenico Tiepolo: Drawings, Prints, and Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 54 (Winter 1996/97), pp. 38, 40-41, reproduced in color fig. 59 (as Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo);
G. Pavanello, “Affreschi veneziani del tardo Settecento,” in Arte Veneta, vol. 63, 2006, p. 123, reproduced p. 126.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.This work seems to have been recently restored and is in beautiful condition. It is un-abraded. There are probably remnants of an old dirt layer here and there, which is attractive and unusual. The left and right edges have been very slightly extended, perhaps by one quarter of an inch, but the top and the bottom are original. The only retouches that are visible under ultraviolet light are a few tiny spots mainly within the background, with the only concentration being in the sky on the upper left edge. It is recommended that the work be hung in its current state.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This oil sketch is a modello for Giovanni Domenico’s grand ceiling fresco, the Triumph of Virtue, in Palazzo Vignola-Balbi, Venice (fig. 1).  Although the sketch has been dated as a late work in the past on stylistic grounds, Giuseppe Pavanello (see Literature) has proposed a possible earlier dating of this decorative scheme to between 1660-70, based on documentation of a major renovation of the palazzo undertaken by Cesare Vignola in 1759.  The Vignola, a wealthy merchant family originally from Bergamo and well-connected in the city government of Venice, had acquired the building in the late 16^th century.  Cesare’s renovations are documented by the existence of two certificates of payment dated to December 1759 “per causa della reffabrica del stabile posto in questa città in contra di S. Giuliano in campo della Guerra” (for the sake of the restructuring of the building located in this city in the quarter S. Giuliano in Campo della Guerra).¹  It is possible that  Giovanni Domenico’s fresco project  was undertaken around the time of this renovation.  Other artists involved in the interior decorations of Palazzo Vignola-Balbi included Francesco Zugno and Giovanni Scajario.

The composition of the fresco closely follows that of the modello.  The figure of Virtue is seen holding a lance and wreath, her breast emblazoned with a sun.  Above and to the right is Nobility (sometimes identified as Wisdom) holding a statuette of Minerva, while at the bottom can be seen the figure of Ignorance, shielding her eyes from a lighted torch held by a putto, with the male figure of Fortitude to her right.  In the fresco, the drapery and black cloud under the figure of Ignorance spill out over the framework of the fresco, creating a bravura trompe l'oeil effect.  The design shows the artist’s close adherence to the style and subject matter of his father, Giovanni Battista, to whom this oil sketch has sometimes been attributed in the past.  Giovanni Battista produced a number of variations on the same theme in the 1740s, such as in his depiction of Fortitude and Wisdom for the ceiling of the Palazzo Manin, Venice (now in the Contini-Bonacossi Collection, Florence).  Giovanni Domenico later (circa 1749-50) made an etching after that composition by his father, renaming it Triumph of Virtue and Nobility.

We are grateful to Dott. Lino Moretti for informing us that this sketch is the modello for the Palazzo Vignola-Balbi fresco and for bringing to our attention the article by Giuseppe Pavanello.

 

 

1.  See G. Pavanello, op.cit., p. 123.