A Boy with a Lute

c. 1740

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

Associated Names
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

Artist, Italian, 1683 - 1754

The drawing depicts the upper body of a person facing the viewer. The person has soft eyes, a straight nose, and slightly parted lips, suggesting a relaxed expression. The individual's hair is wavy and appears to be tied back. They are dressed in a garment with light and dark stripes and a high collar or ruff. The figure holds a long object in their hand. The background is plain and textured, emphasizing the subject.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black chalk and charcoal, heightened with white chalk on (faded) blue laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of the Ruth and Vernon Taylor Foundation

  • Dimensions

    overall: 36.3 x 29.5 cm (14 5/16 x 11 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1979.40.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Alfred Beurdeley (Lugt 421); N. Chaikin; Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Bick

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1971

  • Italian Drawings from the Bick Collection, Dartmouth College, no. 38

1983

  • Graphics Survey Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., February 1983.

1995

  • Splendori del Settecento Veneziano, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, 1995, 414, no. 129 (repro. p. 414)(entry by Annalisa Prissa Torrini).

1997

  • Building a Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997-1998, no. 52.

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 59.

Bibliography

1983

  • Knox 1983, 41.

2012

  • Percival, Melissa. Fragonard and the Fantasy Figure. Vermont, Ashgate (2012): 68, no. 2.16

Wikidata ID

Q64572332

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