Two Rampaging Elephants

1790/1792

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

Associated Names
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

Artist, Venetian, 1727 - 1804

The image shows two large animals, possibly elephants, dominating the lower portion of the composition. Their bodies lead the viewer's gaze towards an open horizon with scattered trees. The drawing is monochromatic, using sepia tones for depth and shadow. Brushstrokes are loose but controlled, with delicate lines detailing the animals' skin and textured strokes for the landscape and sky. Two figures, potentially children, are positioned to the right, observing or interacting with the scene.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, Sotheby's London, 20 March 1974, no. 134); Herbert List [1903-1975], Munich (Lugt 4063); Ursula and Adolf Ratjen, Vaduz, for Wolfgang Ratjen; Wolfgang Ratjen [1943-1997], Vadiz and Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1977

  • Stiftung Ratjen. Italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts, Graphische Sammlung, Munich; Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin; Kunsthalle, Hamburg; Kunstmuseum, Dusseldorf; Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart. Munich, 1977, 220, no. 101 (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, 56, no. 92.

1996

  • Giandomenico Tiepolo, Maestria e gioco, Disegni dal mondo, Castello di Udine; Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, 1996, no. 19.

2011

  • Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525-1835, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2011, no. 62.

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 116.

Bibliography

1977

  • Stiftung Ratjen. Italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts. Munich, 1977: 220-221.

1996

  • Gealt, Adelheid, and George Knox. Giandomenico Tiepolo: Maestria e gioco. Disegni dal mondo. Castello di Udine and Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington. Milan, 1996: 55 (reprod.), 187 (under no. 118), 240, no. 19 (trans. into English as Domenico Tiepolo, Master Draftsman. Bloomington, 1997).

  • Gealt, Adelheid M. and George Knox. Domenico Tiepolo: Master Draftsman. Electa, Milan, 1996: 55, 187, under 118, 240 (no. 19).

2005

  • Gealt, Adelheid, and George Knox. Giandomenico Tiepolo, Scene di vita quotidiana a Venezia e nella terraferma. Venice, 2005, 105, 107, no. 19.

2011

  • Italian Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection 1525-1835. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2011: 142-143.

Inscriptions

lower left, brown ink, signed: Dom.o Tiepolo f

Watermarks

three crescents with double-line "IMPERIAL" below (not in Heawood)

Wikidata ID

Q64572417

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