The Family of the oriental Peasant, from the Scherzi
ca. 1740
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 8 3/4 x 6 7/8 in. (22.2 x 17.5 cm) Sheet: 13 7/16 x 9 3/16 in. (34.1 x 23.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund; Dodge and Pfeiffer Funds; Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; Gift of Bertina Suida Manning and Robert L. Manning, 1976
Accession Number
1976.537(6)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, leading Venetian Rococo artist of the 18th century created *The Family of the Orientalasant* around 1740 as part of his *Scherzi* series playful collection of etchings known as *Scherzi di varie figure These whimsical prints showcase Tiepolo's masterfulsmanship, blending fantasy with everyday life in dynamic compositions full of light and movement. Though renowned for grand frescoes in palaces and churches, Tiepolo's etchings reveal his spontaneous genius, allowing broader access to his imaginative world beyond oil paintings. This etching depicts a humble Oriental p...
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...