Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Spirit and Invention: Drawings by Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo

October 27, 2023 through January 28, 2024

The Morgan is home to one of the world’s largest and most important collections of drawings by Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770) and his eldest son Domenico (1727–1804), with more than 300 representative examples of their lively invention and masterful techniques. Combining highlights from the Morgan’s collection with carefully selected loans, this exhibition will provide a comprehensive look at the Tiepolos’ work as draftsmen, focusing on the role of drawing in their creative process and the distinct physical and stylistic properties of their graphic work. At the core of the collection and exhibition are substantial groups of Giambattista’s drawings that relate to major ceiling fresco projects of the 1740s and 1750s. A fresh look at the style, function, and material properties of these working drawings has yielded new insights into their purposes. Most significantly, the exhibition presents for the first time extremely rare pen studies for Tiepolo’s magnum opus, the ceiling fresco above the staircase of the Würzburg Residenz of 1752, and a group of bold sketches newly connected with his ceiling fresco of 1754 at the Venetian church of Santa Maria della Pietà. Other sections of the exhibition highlight the introduction of Domenico to the family workshop, the exchanges between father and son, and the great series drawings by both: Giambattista’s fantastic heads and figures seen di sotto in su, and Domenico’s drawings of animals, biblical scenes, and contemporary life. The exhibition will end with a wall including striking examples from Domenico’s late Punchinello series.

Spirit and Invention: Drawings by Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo is made possible by Peter and Jane Trapnell Marino and Katharine J. Rayner.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1696–1770. Three Angels in Flight. Pen and brown ink, brown wash, on paper. 18th century. The Morgan Library & Museum, IV, 95a.

Selected Images

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Three Angels in Flight, 1754
The Morgan Library & Museum, IV, 95a.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Design for a Ceiling Showing the Triumph of Hercules, ca. 1729–31
The Morgan Library & Museum, 1968.8, purchased on the Fellows Fund.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Sketch for “The Glory of Saint Dominic,” ca. 1737–39
Philadelphia Museum of Art, John G. Johnson Collection, 1917, Cat. 286.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Apollo, with Lyre and Quiver, His Arm Upraised, ca. 1737–40
The Morgan Library & Museum, Iv, 112a.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Apollo and the Continents, ca. 1737–39
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, AP 1985.04

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
A Group of Punchinellos, ca. 1730–35
Courtesy of Robilant+Voena, London, Milan, New York

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
A Punchinello and His Lady, ca. 1735–40
The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Miss Alice Tully, 1996.58.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Head of a Man, ca. 1735–40
The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Mrs. Rudolf J. Heinemann, in memory of Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, 1996.99.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Profile Study of a Man in Cloak and Mask, ca. 1757–62
The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, 1996.100.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Studies of Apollo and Other Figures, 1752
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, 1909; IV, 137.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
The Coronation of the Virgin, 1754
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, AP 1984.10.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
St. Roch Carried to Heaven by Angels, ca. 1755
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Gift of Howard Sturges, 1956.9.16.

Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804)
St. James (or St. Roch) Taken to Heaven, ca. 1755(?)
The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, 1997.72.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
The Apotheosis of St. Roch, ca. 1755
Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of the Associates in Fine Arts, 1937.88.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
The Annunciation, ca. 1755–60
The Morgan Library & Museum, IV, 134.

Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804)
Monkey Swinging on a Parapet, ca. 1790
The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann,1996.133.

Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804)
Dancing Dogs with Musicians and Bystanders, ca. 1791
The Morgan Library & Museum, estate of Mrs. Vincent Astor; 2012.26.

Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804)
A Visit to a Lawyer, 1791
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased as the gift of the Fellows; 1967.23.

Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804)
Holy Family on the Flight into Egypt Accompanied by Angels, ca. 1785–91
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, 1909; IV, 148.

Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804)
Punchinello Riding on an Ass in Procession of His Fellows, ca. 1797–1804
The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Lore Heinemann in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann; 1997.30

Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804)
Punchinellos Feasting, ca. 1797–1804
Collection of Peter Marino, New York. Photo © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images

Gallery Images