This drawing belongs to a series of drawings of similar lively subjects, showing Cupid with putti tumbling in the clouds, sometimes accompanied by doves. James Byam Shaw, who compared the virtuosity of these drawings to that of 'a pianist improvising on his instrument', dated the series to after 1770, after Domenico's return from Spain. The code inscribed on the verso of the sheet links them to the greatest collection of Tiepolo’s drawings ever assembled, that of Giovanni Domenico Bossi. 

possibly given by the artist to Giovanni Domenico Bossi, Munich (1767-1853); by descent to his daughter Maria Theresa Caroline (1825-1881) and her husband, Carl Christian Friedrich Beyerlen (1826-1881) [Bossi-Beyerlen price code ‘3601. f.1.' on verso]; their estate sale, H.G. Gutekunst (Stuttgart), 27 March 1882; E. Habich (1818-1901), Kassel; his sale, Gutekunst (Stuttgart), 17 April 1899, lot 649 [according to Colnaghi label; does not bear the collector’s mark]; where acquired by Leopold Graf von Kalckreuth, Germany (1855-1928); by descent through his wife to Franz Koenigs, Haarlem (1881-1941); by descent to his son, Willem Otto Koenigs (1926-2009); his sale, Sotheby’s (London), 23 March 1960, lot 12 (for £220); where acquired by Colnaghi (London) [their stock number D.24374; lot 11 was also bought by Colnaghi on behalf of Count Seilern, and is now at the Courtauld, D.1978.PG.384]; Jean Bonna, Geneva; his sale, Christie’s (New York), January 28, 2020, lot 81 (unsold); acquired after the sale by Warren Levin; his bequest to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2024

Sack, Eduard, Giambattista und Domenico Tiepolo: ihr leben und ihre werke: ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte de achtzehnten jahrhunderts, Hamburg 1910
no. 34

Watermark: centre: a nine-petaled flower with curved stem.

Recto: lower right, brown ink, signed by the artist: Dom. Tiepolo f. Verso: lower centre, graphite: 631; lower left of centre edge (also over the inlay), graphite: 178; lower centre edge, brown ink: No. 3601. f.1.; lower right edge, graphite, Colnaghi number: D24374.

Collector's mark: none.

Label: printed in black ink: P.&D. Colnaghi & Co. Ltd. / (ESTABLISHED 1760) / Experts, Valuers and Dealers / IN / Paintings, Drawings, Engravings, Etchings / BY THE / Old and Modern Masters. / 14, OLD BOND STREET, LONDON, W.1. / Telegrams: / COLNAGHI, PICCY, LONDON. / Telephone: / HYDE PARK 1943-44.. Added in pen and brown ink in empty spaces: Cupid in the Chariot of Venus / original drawing by G.D. TIEPOLO (1727-1804) / Coll^ns.: de' Bossi-Beyerlen (old no. on back 3601); E Habi [this last word struck through] / Habich (1818- / 1901): / F. Koenigs. / Lit.: Sack, Tiepolo, p. 320, no. 34.

Label: on masking tape, on former backboard, now removed, black marker: 17994 and 81.

Label: on former backboard, now removed, ballpoint: LITERATURE: / RECORDED EDW. HABICH SALE - H.G. / GUTEKUNST IN STUTTGART SALE #51 APRIL / 17, 1899 PAGE 74 NUMBER 649 / TITLED: "AMOR WITH THE ARROW IN / THE AIR FOLLOWING PIGEONS." LENGTH / 26 CM. HEIGHT 19CM. DESCRIBED / "DELIGHTFUL SEPIA SKETCH (DRAWING)" / MARKED - PAGE 74 COVERS DRAWINGS / IN THE COLLECTION BY GIOV. DOMENICO / TIEPOLO BORN 1726, DIED 1795 (NOTE / DATE NOW DIFFERENT FROM 1899 DATES.) / TITLE OF SALE "OLD MASTER DRAWINGS FROM / 15^th-18^th CENTURIES - FROM THE COLLECTION / OF MR EDW. HABICH IN KASSEL."