洛倫佐·巴爾迪塞拉·帖波洛

Bears two unidentified collector's marks (L.881a and L.1226)
Sold: St. Priest, Paris, January 7, 1920;
Pierre Geismar, Paris (L.2078b)
his sale: Lasquin/Bien, Paris, November 15, 1928, lot 125 (as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo)
Acquired at this sale by Georges-Jules Prat  (1886-1951)
By inheritance to Louis-Antoine and Veronique Prat, Paris (L.3617)
Sold: Paris, December 5, 1984 (as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo)
Sold: Sotheby's, London, July 3, 1989, lot 123
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Professor Roger-Adolf d'Hulst et al., Dessins du XV au XVIII siècles dans les collections privées de Belgique, exh. cat., Brussels, 1983, under no. 75

Window mounted and framed to show both sides, in carved and gilded frame. A little light foxing throughout. In one place, bottom centre, the ink has eaten into the paper, leavin a small hole, and there is also a small repair, presumably from another similar loss. A few minor thin areas at the top edge of the sheet. Condition otherwise reasonably good and fresh.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Lorenzo Tiepolo was the youngest son of Giambattista Tiepolo and brother to Giandomenico Tiepolo.  As a young boy Lorenzo accompanied his father to Würzburg to assist him and his brother and it was there that he learned his craft, making copies after his father's drawings.  He returned to Venice in 1753 where he remained until he left for Spain in 1762.

This handsome and dynamic early drawing is inspired by Giambattista Tiepolo's series of etchings known as Scherzi di Fantasia.  The dating of the etchings has been much debated, but they are generally believed to have been conceived and executed in the late 1740s and into the 1750s.  Drawings by the elder Tiepolo that relate to this series are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (G. Knox, Tiepolo Drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1960, nos. 106-128, reproduced).

A very similar drawing by Lorenzo Tiepolo is in a Belgian private collection (see d'Hulst, op. cit., no. 75).  The seated figure that appears at the lower left of the present sheet is seen on the lower right of the Belgian drawing.  A drawing by Giambattista Tiepolo inscribed N.315, in the same hand, now in the Morgan Library (inv. 1983.47), was formerly in the collection of Janos Scholz (Venice, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Disegni veneti della collezione Janos Scholz, 1957, no. 68, reproduced).