Study for an Inkstand
ca. 1740–45
Medium
Pen and brown ink, gray wash, with splashes of brown wash on the left, over black chalk
Dimensions
17 11/16 x 12 3/16 in. (45 x 31 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.425
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, leading figure of the Venetian Rococo style, created this *Study for an Inkstand around 1740–. Known for his exuberant frescoes and theatrical compositions adorning palaces and churches across Europe, Tiepolo often produced preparatory drawings like this one to refine designs for decorative objects. Here, playful mermaids emerge from the fluid lines, suggesting a whimsical inkstand design that captures the era's love for fantastical motifs inspired by mythology and the sea. Executed in pen and brown ink with gray wash over black chalk, the sheet (17 11/16 x 12 3/16 ...
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...