Details
STUDIO OF GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO (VENICE 1696-1770 MADRID)
Allegorical bust portraits of men from antiquity
the first and second inscribed with Greek letters
detached fresco, oval, en grisaille
the first: 1434 x 1112 in. (37.5 x 29.3 cm.); the second: 1438 x 1118 in. (36.6 x 28.1 cm.); the third: 1412 x 11 in. (36.7 x 28 cm.); the fourth: 1434 x 1138 in. (37.5 x 29 cm.)
a set of four
Provenance
Brass collection, Venice, until 1925.
Dr. Adrien Faucjier-Magnan, Paris.
Count Guy de Jacquelot du Boisrouvray (d.1980), Paris, by 1962.
[Property of a Lady]; Christie's, New York, 22 May 1998, lot 105, as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and workshop and offered with two further detached frescoes, where acquired by the following
with Simon Dickinson, London, from whom acquired by the present owner.
Literature
A. Morassi, A complete catalogue of the paintings of G.B. Tiepolo, London, 1962, p. 40, as Domenico Tiepolo and collaborators and in a set of ten.
Special notice
This lot is offered without reserve.
Brought to you by

Lot Essay

When published by Antonio Morassi in 1962 (loc. cit.) this set of four allegorical busts was included in a group of ten detached frescoes, at that time in the collection of Count Guy de Jacquelot du Boisrouvray (loc. cit.). The set was unillustrated and published with only a loose description defining the group as a whole, describing them as by Domenico Tiepolo and followers. The remaining frescoes were presumably among those offered across multiple lots with the same provenance in these Rooms in 1996 (loc. cit.). The grisailles in the 1996 sale are by a variety of hands and it is therefore impossible to know which Morassi classified as by Domenico, as from the family studio and which were instead the work of followers. Indeed, in 1996 the present four busts were offered together in a lot with two further works of a separate hand, an Allegory of War and an Allegory of Victory, both autograph works by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Like the present set, the two allegories had been included in Morassi's set of ten in the du Boisrouvray collection. According to the catalogue, however, the scholar revised his opinion of the latter upon seeing them post-cleaning and restored them to Giovanni Battista's oeuvre.

According to Morassi, all ten grisaille frescoes came 'from a villa in the Veneto', though it is not known which one. The faux Greek inscriptions, which are nonsensical and presumably intended to evoke an air of antiquity, are similar to those employed in the Personification of Virtues in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. nos. 43.85.12-43.85.16). The Metropolitan Museum frescoes were among those commisioned from Giovanni Battista by Count Giorgio Marchesini for Palazzo Valle-Marchesini-Sala, Vicenza, in 1760 and executed with the assistance of Domenico, and of Francesco Zugno and Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna.

Related Articles

Sorry, we are unable to display this content. Please check your connection.

More from
Old Master Paintings and Sculpture Online
Place your bid Condition report

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

I confirm that I have read this Important Notice regarding Condition Reports and agree to its terms. View Condition Report