A River God and Other Figures on a Parapet
ca. 1740
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over black chalk
Dimensions
6 11/16 x 10 9/16 in. (17 x 26.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.444
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, master of the Venetian Roc style, created *A River God and Other on a Parapet* around 1740. lively drawing captures a mythological scene with a river god—likely inspired by classical antiquity—perched on a parapet other dynamic male figures. Tiepolo, renowned for his grand frescoes adorning palaces and churches across Europe, often produced such preparatory sketches to plan larger compositions, blending Baroque drama with Rococo elegance and lightness. Executed in pen and brown ink with brown wash over black chalk, the work showcases Tiepolo's virtuoso technique. Th...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo · 1696–1770
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) stands as the greatest decorative painter of eighteenth-century Europe, a Venetian master whose luminous frescoes and dynamic compositions defined the Rococo era's aesthetic zenith. Born in Venice on March 5, 1696, to a modest shipping merchant family, Tiepolo's extraordinary talent transcended his humble origins to establish him as the most sought-after artis...