Scherzo with Antique Figures

1744/1745

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Associated Names
Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Artist, Venetian, 1720 - 1778

This is a drawing of figures gathered in a dynamic composition. The drawing appears to be executed in ink or similar medium, using expressive and fluid strokes to create the forms of several figures. One of the figures has wings, and the other figures are engaged in an interaction. There are suggestions of drapery and flowing garments, contributing to the sense of movement and drama. The background features swirling lines and washes, adding depth and atmosphere to the scene. The drawing has a sense of energy and immediacy.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with brown wash over red chalk on laid paper pasted down on the remains of the artist's original mount

  • Credit Line

    Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 25.8 × 19.3 cm (10 3/16 × 7 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2007.111.26

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Brunet-Lotter collection, Tours; by 1947 to Jacques Petithory, Paris [1929-1992] (not in Lugt); Wolfgang Ratjen [1943-1997], Vaduz and Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1971

  • Venise au dix-huitième siècle: Peintures, dessins et gravures des collections françaises. Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, 1971, 115, no. 144 (entry by Roseline Bacou).

1977

  • Stiftung Ratjen, Italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts. Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich; Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin; Kunsthalle, Hamburg; Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf; Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Graphische Sammlung. Munich, 1977, 222, no. 102 (entry by Peter Dreyer).

1979

  • Zeichnungen Italienischer Meister aus den Sammlungen Schloss Fachsenfeld, Stiftung Ratjen Vaduz, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München. Kunstmuseum Lucerne, 1979, 60, no. 103.

1995

  • Fünfzig italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts aus der Stiftung Ratjen, Vaduz. Liechtensteinischen Staatlichen Kunstsammlung, Vaduz. Bern, 1995, no. 12.

1996

  • Italian Drawings from the Ratjen Foundation, Vaduz. The Frick Collection, New York. Bern, 1996, no. 45.

2011

  • Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525-1835, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C, 2011, no. 51.

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 87.

Bibliography

1971

  • Venise au dix-huitième siècle: Peintures, dessins et gravures des collections françaises. Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, 1971: 115, no. 144.

1974

  • Bacou, Roseline. Piranèse: Gravures et dessins. Paris, 1974: 36 (reprod.); also published in English as Piranesi: Etchings and Drawings. Boston, 1975: 36.

1975

  • Stampfle, Felice, and Cara D. Denison. Drawings from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Eugene V. Thaw. The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, 1975, 58, 59, under no. 54.

1977

  • Stiftung Ratjen. Italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts. Munich, 1977: 222-223.

1978

  • Bacou, Roseline. "A propos des dessins de figures de Piranèse," in Piranèse et les français. Colloque tenu à la Villa Médicis, 12-13 Mai 1976. Rome, 1978: 36, 41, fig. 13.

  • Bettagno, Alessandro. Disegni di Giambattista Piranesi. Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice. Vicenza, 1978: 32, under no. 11.

  • Wilton-Ely, John. Piranesi. The Arts Council of Great Britain. London, 1978: 13, under no. 7.

1979

  • Pavanello, Giuseppe. "Piranesi a Venezia (Considerazioni sulla mostra della Fondazione Cini)," Arte Veneta 33 (1979): 206, 208, note 4.

1989

  • Ekserdjian, David. "Piranesi and Titian." The Burlington Magazine 131, no. 1039 (October 1989): 703

1991

  • Venedigs Ruhm in Norden. Die grossen venezianischen Maler des 18. Jahrhunderts, ihre Auftraggeber und ihre Sammler. Forum des Landesmuseums, Hannover, and Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf im Ehrenhof. Hannover, 1991: 352, under no. 131 (entry by Meinolf Trudzinski).

1995

  • Lachenmann, David. Fünfzig italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts aus der Stiftung Ratjen, Vaduz. Vaduz, 1995: no. 45.

1996

  • Lachenmann, David. Italian Drawings from the Ratjen Foundation, Vaduz. Exh. cat. The Frick Collection, New York. Bern, 1996: no. 45.

2008

  • Klemm, David, et al. Von Leonardo bis Piranesi. Italienische Zeichnungen von 1450 bis 1800 aus dem Kupferstichkabinett der Hamburger Kunsthalle. Hamburger Kunsthalle. Hamburg, 2008: 186, under no. 86.

2009

  • Klemm, David. Italienische Zeichnungen 1450-1800. Zeichnungen aus dem Kupferstichkabinett der Hamburger Kunsthalle. Cologne, 2009: 282, 283, under no. 407*.

2011

  • Italian Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection 1525-1835. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2011: 118-119.

Inscriptions

lower right, brown ink, signed: Piranesi; verso of mount with ruled ink border, lower right, brown ink, [upside down]: B.P.L. 114; verso of mount, upper left and upper right, graphite [twice]: 3; verso of mount, upper center, blue pencil: Dilo

Wikidata ID

Q64572355

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