Scholars Consulting Books and a Globe

c. 1747

Giovanni Francesco Costa

Associated Names
Giovanni Francesco Costa

Artist, Venetian, 1711 - 1773

The image displays swirling curves and overlapping lines creating an abstract composition. A flowing form occupies the central space, with a lion-like figure at the top, and a spherical object below. An open book and geometric shapes are also included. The background features radiating lines.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, hand-colored with watercolor and gouache, on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    New Century Fund

  • Dimensions

    plate: 20.4 × 29.7 cm (8 1/16 × 11 11/16 in.)
    sheet: 23.2 × 33.1 cm (9 1/8 × 13 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2014.176.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Cesare Morini, Milan (d. 2013); his widow, Karin Wachtel, Milan; (Stanza del Borgo, Milan); purchased 2014 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2005

  • Una Venezia di carta: La città dei Dogi all'epoca di Canaletto e Tiepolo, Capolavori di una collezione di incisioni veneziane del Settecento, cat. by Antonia Nessi, Cabinet Cantonal des Estampes, Musée Jenisch, Vevey; Institut d'histoire de l'art et de muséologie, Université de Neuchâtel; Museo Cantonale d'Arte, Lugano, 2005-2006, no. 25.

2018

  • Sense of Humor: Caricature, Satire, and the Comical in Prints and Drawings from Leonardo to the Present, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2018 - 2019.

Inscriptions

lower center in plate: Costa; lower left of plate: 2; by later hand, lower center verso in graphite: 109

Watermarks

coat of arms

Wikidata ID

Q77007933

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