Illustration for a Book: Pope Handing a Banner to a Crusader, with Ships in the Background
1696–1770
Medium
Black chalk. Horizontal and vertical centering lines ruled in faint black chalk
Dimensions
3-1/16 x 6-1/8 in. (7.8 x 15.6 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
59.600.190
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, master of Venetian Rococo art (1696–1770), created this intimate black chalk drawing as an illustration for a book. just 3-1/16 x 6-1/8 inches, it a dramatic moment: a pope solemnly handing a banner to aader knight, with ships visible in the background. Faint horizontal and vertical centering lines revealiepolo's meticulous preparatory process, guiding the composition for precise reproduction in print. The scene evokes the Crusades, those medieval holy wars launched by popes to reclaim Jerusalem, symbolizing papal authority, chivalric duty, and maritime expeditions....
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...