The Adoration of the Magi

c. 1740

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Associated Names
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Artist, Venetian, 1696 - 1770

This is a drawing of a pastoral scene with various figures and animals in a rustic setting. It is a complex etching with intricate details, featuring wooden structures, a stable, a cow near stone walls, and several figures. The image shows a variety of textures, from thatched roofing to tree bark, creating a rich tapestry of lines and shading. Above the scene, there is a figure flying among clouds with light streaming down. The overall atmosphere blends divine intervention with everyday rustic life, typical of scenes that blend the earthly with the heavenly. The style of crosshatching and expressive linework gives it a classical and dramatic feel.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 43.3 x 28.8 cm (17 1/16 x 11 5/16 in.)
    sheet: 46 x 31.9 cm (18 1/8 x 12 9/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1959.16.14

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Rizzi 1971, no. 27, State i/iii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

G. Zanetti the Elder, Venice; possibly Baron D. Vivant-Denis, Paris (Lugt 779-80). A. Caironi, Milan (Lugt 426). Pierre Berès, Paris. Acquired 1951 by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979]; gift 1959 to the NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1972

  • Rare Etchings by Giovanni Battista and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1972, no. 41, repro.

1984

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., February 1984.

1994

  • The Glory of Venice: Art in the Eighteenth Century, Royal Academy of Arts, London, and National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994, 193, 498, no. 109 (repro. p. 193)(entry by Olimpia Theodoli).

Bibliography

1906

  • Vesme, Alexandre de (Baudi di Vesme, Alessandro). Le peintre-graveur italien; ouvrage faisant suite au peintre-graveur de Bartsch. Milan: Ulrico Hoepli, 1906.

1971

  • Rizzi, Aldo. The Etchings of the Tiepolos. Complete edition. London: Phaidon, 1971.

1994

  • The Glory of Venice. Exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington; Museo del Settecento Veneziano - Ca'Rezzonico, Venice; Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, 1994-1995: no. 109.

Wikidata ID

Q65226499

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