(Venice 1727-1804) The Adoration of the Magi, pen and black ink, on laid paper, with watermark "eagle", inscribed "Maniera Tintoretto" in pen and brown ink from another hand, 17 x 24,5 cm, slightly browned, mounted, framed, (Sch)

Provenance:
Private collection, Austria.

Literature:
For comparable drawings by Tiepolo see: George Knox, Panorama of Tiepolo Drawing, 2008, Cat. 83, p. 176; Adelheid M. Gealt / George Knox (Eds.), Giandomencio Tiepolo: maestria e gioco - Disegni dal mondo, Exh. Cat. Udine, Castello di Udine, 14th September – 31st December 1996, Nos 72, 73, 74, 78, 79.

The attribution of the drawing to Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo was confirmed by Prof. Dr. Bernard Jan Hendrik Aikema after having seen the original.

The present drawing is a characteristic example of Domenico Tiepolo’s early drawing style. The sheet is related to a larger group of pen drawings in various public and private collections. The majority of them show religious scenes from the Old Testament and from the Life of Saint Anthony. (comp. Gealt/ Knox 1996, Cats. 72, 73, 74, 78, 79). The sheets can be dated between 1750-1760 when Domenico emancipated himself from the studio of his father and established a reputation as a recognised painter and draftsman. The present drawing represents the subject “Adoration of the Magi” in a compositional manner which had been well proved by his father around 1730. A comparable early drawing by Domenico with an "Adoration of the Magi” was offered at an auction sale in the Dorotheum" on 24th October 2013 (lot 143).