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.

Tiepolo, Guardi, and Their World: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Drawings

September 27, 2013, through January 5, 2014

The Morgan's collection of eighteenth-century Venetian drawings is among the world's finest, with more than 300 sheets by renowned masters Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770) and his son Domenico (1726–1804). Drawn entirely from the museum's holdings, Tiepolo, Guardi, and Their World features a selection of more than one hundred works on paper and chronicles the vitality and originality of drawing during Venice's second Golden Age.

The eighteenth century saw the resurgence of the legendary maritime city as a center for international arts patronage. Venice was home to several flourishing family workshops and commissions from the church, the nobility, the bourgeoisie, and foreign travelers ensured the fame of her artists. The exceptional creativity of Venetian masters is seen in Giambattista Tiepolo's luminous wash studies for frescoed ceilings and painted figures, views of Venice and architectural capricci by Francesco Guardi and Canaletto, early designs executed by Giovanni Piranesi during his formative years in the city, and Domenico Tiepolo's humorous Scenes from Contemporary Life and theatrical vignettes depicting the comic character Punchinello.

Tiepolo, Guardi, and Their World: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Drawings is generously supported by the Sherman Fairchild Fund for Exhibitions, and by Kasper and Mr. and Mrs. Clement C. Moore II.

Giambattista Tiepolo, (1696–1770)
Psyche Transported to Olympus
Pen and brown ink, with brown wash, over black chalk, on paper.
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York; 1997.27
Gift of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann

Selected Images

Francesco Guardi (1712–1793), Ascent of a Balloon in Venice , Black chalk on paper, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York Thaw Collection
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1726?–1804), Punchinellos with an Elephant , Pen and brown ink, with brown and ochre wash, over black chalk, on paper, Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1910 , IV, 151b
Francesco Guardi (1712–1793), View of Levico in the Valsugana , Pen and brown and black ink, brown wash, over black chalk, Thaw Collection
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1726–1804), The Last Illness of Punchinello , Pen and brown ink on paper.Thaw Collection
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1726–1804), The Presentation of the Fiancé , Pen and gray-brown ink on paper, Thaw Collection
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1726–1804), The Quack Dentist , Pen and brown and gray-brown ink on paper, Thaw Collection
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1726–1804), The Setting Off on the Flight into Egypt , Pen and brown ink on paper., IV, 146
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (1682–1754), Young Woman with Tambourine , Black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on paper, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York , IV, 90
Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770), Design for a Ceiling showing the Triumph of Hercules , Pen and brown ink on paper, Purchased on the Fellows Fund , 1968.8
Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770), Apollo, with Lyre and Quiver, His Arm Upraised , Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over black chalk, on paper, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York , IV, 112a
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770), Psyche Transported to Olympus , ca. 1740, Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over black chalk, Gift of Lore Heinemann in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann , 1997.27
Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770), Drunken Punchinello , Pen and brown ink, brown wash over black chalk, on paper, Thaw Collection
Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770), Large Family Portrait , Pen and brown ink on paper, Gift of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann , 1997.23
Marco Ricci (1676–1729), A Roman Capriccio , Gouache on paper, Purchased as the gift of the Fellows , 1961.29
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (1697–1768), Architectural Capriccio , Pen and brown ink, with gray wash, over graphite and traces of black chalk, Gift of János Scholz , 1973.48
Sebastiano Ricci (1659–1734), Venus and Cupid with other Figures before an Altar , Black chalk on paper, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York , 1950.5