Illustration for a Book: Meeting Between a Pope and Doge
1696–1770
Medium
Black chalk. Horizontal and vertical centering lines ruled in faint black chalk
Dimensions
2-13/16 x 6-1/4 in. (7.2 x 15.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.600.188
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770), one of the leading Venetian artists of the eighteenth century, created this delicate black-chalk drawing as a preparatory illustration for a book. The compact sheet, measuring just over six inches wide, captures a formal meeting between a pope and a doge—the elected ruler of Venice—along with attendant figures that include men and boys. Centering lines ruled faintly across the paper indicate Tiepolo’s careful planning for a printed composition, a common practice when designing book illustrations or engravings. Tiepolo’s fluid handling of chalk reveals hi...
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...