Satirical drawing: Artist Painting an Old Lady's Portrait
1729–1804
Medium
Pen and gray ink, brush and gray wash, and gray, brown, red, blue, yellow and green watercolor. Framing lines in pen and brown ink
Dimensions
10 7/8 x 15 7/16in. (27.7 x 39.2cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Harry G. Sperling, 1971
Accession Number
1975.131.39
Tags
Art Historical Context
Pietro Antonio Novelli's *Satirical Drawing: Artist Painting an Old Lady Portrait* (ca. 1729–1804) captures the whimsical spirit of 18th-century Venetian art with sharp wit and technical finesse. Novelli, a versatile Italian draftsman and engraver associated with the Rococo style, delighted in poking fun at everyday vanities through his intricate drawings. This piece, executed in pen and gray ink with brush and gray wash, heightened by vibrant watercolors in gray, brown, red, blue, yellow, and green, showcases his mastery of mixed media on paper. The framing lines in pen and brown ink add a po...
About the Artist
Pietro Antonio Novelli · 1729–1804
**Pietro Antonio Novelli (1729–1804)** Pietro Antonio Novelli, a prolific Venetian painter, draughtsman, and engraver, trained under the esteemed Jacopo Amigoni and in the studio of Giambattista Pittoni, absorbing influences from Gaspare Diziani and Francesco Guardi. In 1768, he gained membership in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia with his reception piece, *Allegory of the Arts*. Early in ...