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Annunciation

Maker

(artist)
1696-1770

Title

Annunciation

Date of Production

c. 1757-1762

Medium

black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash on laid paper

Dimensions

Height: 26 cm
Width: 17.5 cm

Accession Number

D.1978.PG.387

Mode of Acquisition

Count Antoine Seilern, bequest, 1978

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

This drawing once formed part of the Orloff Album, one of the record books that remained in Venice after Tiepolo moved to Madrid in 1762. The album featured seven sketches of the Annunciation, and seven sketches each of the Flight into Egypt and the Holy Family. These series provide an intimate insight into the artist's spirituality.

Tiepolo’s masterful command of the pen and wash technique imbued the image with a sense of expressivity and profound religious participation. The swift execution and economy of the line indicate a date in the late 1750s for this drawing, whose style is comparable with that of the Apollo in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. No. D.1825.231-1885).

Provenance

mounted by the artist in an album and possibly given to his son, Giuseppe Tiepolo, friar in the convent of the Somaschi, Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, 1762; kept in convent of the Somaschi until its suppression, 1810; possibly acquired by Gregory Vladimirovitch Orloff (1777-1826); by descent to Prince Alexis Orloff, Paris (1867-1916); his sale, Georges Petit (Paris), 29 - 30 April 1920, lot 76; purchased there by Paulme (Paris); Tomás Harris, London (1908-1964); his sale, Sotheby's (London), 25 March 1965, lot 151; purchased there by Colnaghi (London) on behalf of Count Antoine Seilern, London (1901-1978) (£3,800); Princes Gate Bequest 1978

Exhibition History

All Spirit and Fire - Oil Sketches by Tiepolo, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 23/02/2006-29/05/2006

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 16/10/1991-19/01/1992

Drawings by Tiepolo and Guardi in the Princes Gate Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 31/07/1982-30/01/1983

Literature

Knox, George, 'The Orloff Album of Tiepolo Drawings' in 'Burlington Magazine', June 1961 - pp. 269-75; 103, 699
pp. 273, 275

Seilern, Count Antoine, Italian paintings and drawings at 56 Princes Gate, London SW7. Addenda, London 1969; V
no. 387
pl. LXXIV

Drawings by Tiepolo and Guardi in the Princes Gate Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 31/07/1982- 30/01/1983, cat. by Helen Braham
no. 24 ...More

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1991
cat. no. 68
pp. 144, 193-94
ill. on p. 145 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: Recto, right of centre: difficult to identify (see tracing in file).

Inscription: Verso: centre, graphite: “1 / 17 //”.

Collector's mark: none.

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